Aj 
Ai 

o\ 

0\ 
1 : 

41 

3; 
5i 

3; 
3i 
Oi 


m 


l'illli|!ii;ii';lui!!'! 


PR 

2944 

N3 


To  the  Rcadrr. 


Th.'  rcurc, thac  tliou here \ 
|i  ■'.,.  •  iirccndc  Shakrij c 

\A  ii'   iiiuiicGraurrluviailii 
\     r..  s  luirc*  toouc-Joiuir 

mbraircjslicli.u: 

■  '-.cHriniwouid  liu 

A.i.tiiJi  \'v  js  cucr  vvni  in : 

L.;;t,  lintc  he  cannot,  Rcajr., ., 

Notonhis Picture  '•■(  ■     . 


"•I'.WK.IIAM 


SHAKESPEARES 


'  I'Mt-.Dil  s, 

11^  A(;  !,!)!•   s 


Photograph   showing   the   Title-Page  and   the   page   opposite   of   the 
Folio  of  1623. 


Plate  I. 


MR.  WIUUIAM  ARGOMB: 
The 

KEY 

To 

SHAKESPEARE 

BY 

The  Anatomy  of  The  Fig-ure 

On  the  Title-Page  of  the  FoHo  of  1623  of  the 

Shakespeare  Plays 

WITH 

Notes  to  Love's  Labour  Lost,  and  with  Key  and  Notes  to  the 

Sonnets,  found  in  Two  Old  Volumes  at  the 

Court  of  Navarre 


Take    this    Key,    give    enlargement    to    the 

swaine,    bring    him    festinately    hither:     I 

must   employ  him   in   a  letter  to   my   love. 

L.  L.  L.  III.  1.  5.  Folio  of  1628. 


BY 
TH.  T.   NAAE,  B.   S.,  M.   D. 


The  Times  Press,  Graettinger,  Iowa 
1915 


Copyright,  1915  by 
TH.  T.  NAAE,  B.  S.,  M.  D. 

All  rights  reserved 


To  The  IMemory 

of 


THE  AUTHOR  MASTER 


Plate  II. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Prologue 5 

To  the  Reader 7 

Chapter  I. 

A  Visit  to  the  Court  of  Navarre 9 

Chapter  II. 

The  Anatomy  and  Meaning  of  The  Figure  on  the  Title- 
page  of  the  Folio  of  1623 15 

Chapter  III. 

Notes  to  Love's  Labour  Lost 23 

Chapter  IV. 

Key  and  Notes  to  the  Sonnets 52 

Chapter  V. 

Conclusion 93 

Chapter  VI. 

'Greasy  Jone' 96 

Chapter  VII. 

Epilogue 99 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facsimile  of  Title-page  of  Folio  of  1623— Plate  L 

Frontispiece 

Dedication — Plate  II 2 

The  Introductory  Poem — Plate  III 4 

Title-page  of  Folio— Plate  IV 5 

Meaning  of  the  Introductory  Poem — Plate  V 14 

Meaning  of  The  Figure — Plate  VI 15 

The  Master  Schoolmaster — Plate  VII 23 

Facsimile  of  title-page  De  Augmentis — PlateVIII 43 

The  Mask  removed— Plate  Vll.-a 65 

Facsimile  of  page  9  of  Folio — Plate  IX 103 

The  Mask  (reduced  1/2)— Plate  X 108 

The  Monogram  (reduced  1/2)— Plate  XI 109 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


To  the  Rcaclcn 

This  Fj^urc,  that  thou  here  iccftpur, 

ji  was  lor  i>cndc  Shakcfpeare  cur; 
VVhtTcin  the  Graucr  had  a  llnfe 

with  Nature,  toout-doothcliTc  : 
0,couid  he  but  haucdra vvnc  his  \vk 

Ai  well  in  brafle,  ashe  hath  hit 
Hijrface  ,  the  Print  would  thenfurpallc 

.f\lL  chat  \'^'as  euer  writ  in  braile. 
Butj  lince  he  cannot,  Reader,  lookc 
Notonhis  Pifturc,  but  his Book'e. 

B.  1 


Photo-Facsimile    of   the    Intvoductoi-y   Poem    on    the   page 
opposite  the  title-page  of  the  Folio  of  UVZ:]   (reduced   V2). 


Plate  III. 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


SHAKESPEARES 

COMEDIES, 
HISTORIES,    <Sc      ' 
TRAGEDIES. 

PuLIiiiicd  according  to  the  TrucQri^inalJ  Copies. 


^  '^1 


Pnntcdby  I&ac  lasgard, and  Ed,  Blount.  1 6z 5. 


Photo-Facsimile    of    the    title-page    of    the    Folio    of    1623    of    the 
Shakespeare   Plays    (reduced    V2). 


Plate   IV. 


LIBRARY 

WSTVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PROLOGUE 

The  Key  that  is  herewith  handed  to  you  for  all 
the  nations,  will  give  you  the  same  keen  delight,  en- 
joyment, and  satisfaction  that  it  has  given  me,  if  you  will 
but  use  it ;  it  will  unlock  to  you  those  treasures  which  other- 
wise cannot  be  gotten  at  nor  be  seen ;  it  is  The  Key  which 
the  Owner  of  the  treasury  himself  has  made,  and  which 
he  used  to  gain  access  to  his  treasures.  When  he  departed 
he  left  his  Key  at  the  door  of  his  treasure-house  for  us  to 
use  to  gain  a  like  access;  therefore,  take  it  and  use  it  the 
way  he  tells  you.  He  used  it,  and  when  he  took  his  leave 
and  left  his  treasures  behind  he  locked  them  up  and  put 
them  under  truest  bars  with  this  Key.  Those  who  try  to 
enter  his  treasure-house  without  the  use  of  his  Key  are,  like 
"the  suspicious  head  of  theft,"  thieves  and  robbers  and  will 
suffer  a  like  fate. 

It  is  strange  that  no  one  for  a  long  time  has  seen 
The  Key  hanging  there  by  the  door.  The  reason  is,  perhaps, 
that  he  hung  it  behind  a  picture  (which  is  so  often  done), 
that  of  a  Figure  head,  partly  hiding  it  from  common  view 
so  that  the  visible  parts  do  not  look  like  a  Key.  He  hid 
The  Key  in  this  way  that  only  the  worthy  might  see  it  and 
so  use  it. 

Look,  therefore,  behind  the  picture  and  find  The 
Key.  When  you  see  it  I  know  you  will  take  it  and  use  it 
without  delay  to  open  the  door  to  his  Manor-house  and  to 
enter  therein  to  see  and  enjoy  the  hidden  and  rare  treasures 
that  there  await  you. 

William  Argone. 


To  The  Reader 

Some    oracle 
Must  i-ectify  oui'  knowledge. — The  Tempest,  V.  I.  224. 

This  little  volume  is  the  outcome  of  a  discovery.  This 
discovery  is,  perhaps,  the  most  unique  in  the  world  of  liter- 
ature. It  gives  at  once  the  complete  and  unbounded  satis- 
faction of  knowing  with  absolute  certainty  who  is  the  author 
of  the  works  known  to  us  as  the  Shakespeare  Plays  and 
Poems.  It  is  not  an  attempt  to  lii'ove  this  authorship,  for  to 
do  so  is  entirely  superfluous  and  unnecessary.  The  author 
himself  has  eminently  well  taken  care  to  do  this.  No 
author  ever  did,  no  author  ever  could  take  greater  pains  to 
identify  his  name  with  his  poetry  than  did  he. 

I  have  only  set  down  what  I  have  seen,  and  which  all 
will  see,  when  it  is  pointed  out  to  them.  It  is  a  study  of  'his 
bias,'  The  Figure,  which  'leaves  and  makes  his  book  thine 
eyes.' 

The  great  author  has  taken  every  precaution  that 
his  name  may  live  with  his  Muse,  as  he  himself  says: 

"How  careful  was  I  when  I  took  my  way, 

Each  trifle  under  truest  bars  to  thrust, 

That  to  my  use  it  might  unused  stay 

From  hands  of  falsehood  in  sure  wards  of  trust." 

(Sonnet  XLVIII.) 

No  poet  ever  devised  surer  means  for  perpetuating 
his  name  in  and  with  his  poetry.  He  has  truly  cut  his  name 
in  'Delphic  lines,'  and  can  well  afford  to  say: 

I  scorn  to  change  my  state  with  kings. — Sonnet  XXIX. 

September,  1915. 

Th.  T.  Naae. 


"So  am  I  as  the  rich,  whose  blessed  key 
Can  bring  him  to  his  sweet  up-locked-treasure, 
The  which  he  will  not  every  hour  survey, 
For  blunting  the  fine  point  of  seldom  pleasure. 
Therefore  are  feasts  so  solemn  and  so  rare, 
Since,  seldom  coming,  in  the  long  year  set, 
Like  stones  of  worth  they  thinly  placed  are 
Or  captain  jewels  in  the  carcanet. 
So  is  the  time  that  keeps  you  as  my  chest. 
Or  as  the  wardrobe  which  the  robe  doth  hide, 
To   make   some   special    instant   special    blest. 
By  new  unfolding  his  imprisoned  pride. 

Blessed    are   you,  whose  worthiness   gives   scope, 
Being   had,   to   triumph,   being   lack'd,   to   hope." 

— Sonnet  LII. 


CHAPTER  I 

A  VISIT  TO  THE  COURT  OF  NAVARRE 

Navarre  shall  be  the  wonder  of  the  world; 
Our   court   shall    be   a    little   Academe. 

L.  L.  L.  I.  1.  12. 

During  one  of  my  recent  excursions  I  had  the  good 
fortune  of  seeing  Old  Navarre.  While  it  is  a  place  well 
known  to  history  and  literature,  yet  of  the  many  that  pass 
by  here  but  few  or  none  ever  seem  to  think  it  worth  while  to 
stop  to  see  the  Old  Court  inside.  I  was  determined  to  find 
out  what  I  could  about  this  place,  and  happening  to  go  this 
way,  I  thought  I  might  as  well  take  it  in. 

The  place  which  was  once  the  scene  of  the  ancient 
court  in  all  its  splendors  is  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation, 
and  well  worth  while  seeing.  It  is  situated  in  a  secluded  spot 
on  a  level,  elevated  tract  of  land,  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by 
high  cliffs  and  mountains.  Having  to  my  satifsaction  looked 
the  place  well  over  on  the  outside,  I  prevailed  upon  the  keep- 
er to  show  me  through  the  interior. 

Being  shown  through  many  rooms,  halls,  and  corri- 
dors, such  as  are  generally  found  in  medieval  structures  of 
this  kind,  I  came  at  last  into  a  room  which  seemed  to  have 
been  very  seldom  opened.  I  was  curious  to  know  what  this 
particular  room  had  been  used  for,  as  it  was  wholly  different 
from  anything  I  had  ever  seen  before.  Upon  inquiry  I  soon 
perceived  that  it  was  the  one  which  the  king  and  his  court- 
iers had  been  using  for  a  lecture  room  where  learned  dis- 
courses on  occult  arts,  letters  and  sciences  used  to  be  given. 
The  walls  were  decorated  with  paintings  of  famous  authors 
and  other  savants.  Ponderous  tomes  yellow  with  age  and 
showing  signs  of  hard  usage  lay  about,  and  evidently  had 


10 

not  been  opened  for  centuries.      It  seemed  to  have  been  a 
veritable  Rosicrucian  room. 

As  I  looked  these  old  volumes  over  I  was  particularly 
impressed  with  one  large  book,  which  showed  great  wear 
from  much  use,  yet  was  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 
The  title-page  seemed  to  be  the  one  most  fingered,  showing 
many  finger  marks,  especially  on  and  around  the  picture,  or 
figure  printed  upon  it.  Upon  further  examination  I  was 
surprised  to  find  that  the  book  was, — 

MR.    WILLIAM 

SHAKESPEARES 

COMEDIES, 
HISTORIES  & 
TRAGEDIES. 

The  picture,  or  figure,  on  the  title-page  appeared  to 
me  as  like  one  I  had  seen  hanging  on  the  wall  of  the  room. 
To  make  sure  that  the  two  were  alike  I  walked  up  to  the 
painting  on  the  wall  several  times,  comparing  the  two,  and  I 
became  convinced  that  the  figure  in  the  book  must  have  been 
engraved  from  this  particular  figure,  or  from  one  like  it,  for 
the  two  were  identical.  I  examined  this  painted  figure  min- 
utely, having  excited  my  curiousity  by  its  very  peculiar 
dress  and  general  appearance.  It  seemed  to  represent  a  sort 
of  a  knight  in  armor  in  a  fantastical  coat  or  tunic,  somewhat 
resembling  a  coat  of  mail.  The  body  of  the  coat  was  dark 
green  with  a  shaded  band  across  the  chest  on  each  side  while 
the  inkle  or  tape  used  for  trimming  was  made  of  red  and 
white.  On  very  close  examination  I  discovered  that  the  head 
of  the  figure  was  removable  and  could  be  raised  up  in  front, 
like  a  lid  hinged  at  the  top. 

Looking  at  this  intently  and  wondering  why  this 
was  so,  I  discovered  something  like  a  letter  sticking  out 
from  under  the  head,  and  by  raising  it  the  letter  came  plain- 
ly into  view.    I  was  curious  to  know  what  this  writing  could 


n 

be,  and  carefully  taking  hold  of  it  I  pulled  the  letter  out  and 
found  that  the  writing- was  quite  plain,  and  seemed  to  have 
remained  untouched  and  unopened  for  generations. 

The  letter  was  addressed  to  the  King  of  Navarre, 
and  there  I  could  read  as  follows : 

I  thought  it  good  and  meet  to  explain  certain  things 
to  you  that  are  hidden  from  the  common  view,  in  order,  that 
you  may  the  better  understand,  and  therefore  the  more 
fully  comprehend  and  enjoy  his  book  and  this  Figure.  He 
hath  taken  great  pains  to  deliver  this  Painting  and  his 
Book  safely  into  your  hands  by  his  trusting  Lords  Biron 
and  Dumain;  and  he  doth  hope  that  you  will  be  in  per- 
fect health  when  these  presents  are  delivered  into  your 
hands  for  safe  keeping  for  the  good  of  all  nations. 

Now,  as  to  the  manner,  meaning  and  form  of  this 
Figure,  the  explanation  is  this : 

As  to  form :  It  is  in  part  that  of  a  knight  with  the 
face  of  a  youth,  with  a  cuckold's  horn,  or  a  sheep's  horn,  or 
that  of  a  deer,  or  of  a  goat,  (whose  skin  is  the  actor's  sym- 
bol) for  an  ear  mostly  hid  under  the  hair  of  the  left  side; 
for  a  knight  must  have  a  horn  to  tute,  as  custom  is,  in  set- 
ting forth  for  combat  to  win  his  Love.  He  is  a  boy  yet,  like 
Cupid,  to  win  the  author  for  his  Love,  his  Lady  Muse. 

As  for  the  manner :  His  hair  is  long  like  unto  that  of 
an  old  man,  and  the  head  is  partly  bald.  The  head,  like  a 
helmet,  can  be  raised  or  lifted  up,  as  you  see,  exposing  his 
vulnerable  part,  the  collar,  which,  like  a  Judas,  will  betray 
him,  and  as  Maccabaeus,  will  conquer  him  some  day.  The 
arm  is  cut  short  into  a  peak  and  is  cone-like ;  the  apparent 
right  arm  and  chest  is  but  the  back-part  of  the  left  arm  and 
chest,*  being  a  quasi-person. 

Now,  the  anatomy  and  the  meaning  of  the  Figure 
is  this :  Removing  the  head  you  see  the  letter  B  in  the  collar,! 
it  lying  flat-wise,  as  it  were,  and   backward;    underneath 

*See  foot-note  pp.  16  and  17. 
tSee  Plate  VI. 


12 

this  is  the  letter  A,  the  second  letter  of  his  name ;  then  F  to 

left  and  R  to  right  in  quick  succession  you  see  before  you 

on  the  breast ; 

Then  from  R  to  consonant  C  by  name, 

Of  R  a  part 

Then  O  around  the  shoulder,  and  N  from  F 

And  Co-line  L 

Seen  on  left  arm  in  front. 

The  mote  and  beam 

From  F  to  L  on  Figure's  right 

Do  make  the  N  before  unseen. 

And  so  his  name  complete, 

FR.  BACON. 

This  is  the  theme  set  forth 

On  leaf  the  first  in  Poem  short 

With  B  I.  as  bi  to  show  wherein  it  doth  proceed. 

As  'by'  to  noun,  his  name. 

In  Figure  seen, 

Stamped  on  his  Book  complete. 

Like  Caesar's  image  on  his  coin. 

And  that  his  name  may  be  the  faster  bound 

To  this  his  volume  he  hath  wound  it  round 

With  a  golden  chain,  his  sonnets; 

And  so  found  outside  of  his  book, 

Girding  it,  his  Muse,  like  the  Zodiac  the  heavens. 

Morever,  scattered  through  it  here  and  there. 

In  some  lines  more,  some  less,  his  name  lies  buried. 

If  question  asked 

Why  so  strange  a  union  is  performed, 

"Mere  necessity" 

His  answer  is, 

A  fountain  of  supply  to  him  't  has  been 

Of  mirths  and  jests  and  merriments 

And  of  dark  sayings. 

A  mirror  up  to  Nature  true 

And  without  which  there  could  have  been 

No  Love's  Labour  Lost,  nor  others  of  its  kin 


13 

So  he  doth  commend  this  vokime 
And  its  prototype,  the  Figure-Print 
To  your  raost  safe  keeping-. 

Prom  Be  Augmentis  Place,  this  XXIXth  day  of  April  1623. 
Your  Lordship's  most  humble  Servant, 

William  Argone. 

The  letter  closed  with  a  Postscript  which  I  have 
placed  as  a  suitable  Prologue  of  this  book.    See  ante. 

Carefully  did  I  restore  the  letter  to  where  I  found  it, 
and  as  I  did  so,  by  raising  the  head  of  the  Figure,  the  letter 
B  came  plainly  into  view ;  and  letting  the  head  down  over  it 
as  before  one  would  have  to  look  intently  at  The  Figure  to 
perceive  the  author's  cunning  device. 

For  a  time  a  peculiar  sensation  came  over  me,  as  if 
I  had  had  a  revelation,  as  if  I  were  the  only  one  in  the  world 
it  had  ever  been  given  to  see.  But  could  it  be  true ;  could  it  be 
true  that  what  we  have  been  taught  to  know  as  a  work  by  a 
man  'Shakespeare'  is  written  by  Francis  Bacon?  Was  it 
true  that  this  painting  I  had  just  seen  was  the  identical 
same  one  as  that  Print  on  the  title-page  of  the  Old  Folio  I 
saw  lying  there?  That  it  was  and  is  the  same  there  could 
be  not  a  particle  of  doubt.  Every  line  of  the  painted  picture 
hanging  on  the  wall  was  identical  with  that  in  the  book. 

I  walked  out  of  the  room  in  wonderment  and  surprise, 
my  mind  agitated  with  the  great  discovery.  Could  it  be  that 
it  was  given  me  to  see  this  and  no  one  else  ?  It  must  be  so 
for  otherwise  we  should  have  heard  of  it  before  now.  Ran- 
sack hterature  as  we  may,  there  is  nothing  to  show  that 
this  great  light  has  ever  been  seen  before  for  close  to  three 
hundred  years. 

I  felt,— 

"As  an  imperfect  actor  on  the  stage 

Who  with  his  fear  is  put  besides  his  part; 

Or  some  fierce  thing  replete  with  too  much  rage, 

Whose  strength's  abundance  weakens  his  own  heart," 
that  I  had  a  message  to  the  world,  one  that  I  must  bring. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  since  Love's  Labour  Lost  was 


14 

mentioned  in  the  letter  it  might  be  interesting  to  look  up  the 
Play  in  the  Great  FoHo  I  had  seen,  to  see  if,  perchance,  there 
might  be  anything  interesting  in  it,  any  notes  or  explanatory 
remarks.  Accordingly,  the  next  day  I  hurried  to  the  place 
where  I  again  gained  ready  admittance.  With  eager  antic- 
ipation I  opened  the  Folio  and  found  to  my  great  surprise 
and  delight,  not  only  marginal  notes  and  marks,  but  in  some 
instances  even  parallel  readings  of  explanations  on  every 
page  of  the  Great  Play.  At  first  I  experienced  some  dif- 
ficulty in  making  out  what  was  written.  But  becoming 
more  and  more  used  to  reading  them  I  made  out  most  of 
them  quite  clearly.  After  some  search  a  copy  of  the  quarto 
containing  the  Sonnets  was  also  found.  It  showed  evidence 
of  much  use,  similar  to  the  Folio,  and  was  well  marked  up 
with  notes  and  explanatory  remarks  in  and  among  the  Son- 
nets. Every  day  for  some  time  I  made  visits  to  the  Court, 
which  for  me  surely  had  become  'a  little  Academe,'  until  I 
had  written  all  I  could  make  out  from  the  Play  and  the  Son- 
net. Carefully  did  I  note  all,  and  the  following  Chapters  are 
the  results.  I  have  tried  to  arrange  the  matter  in  an  orderly 
manner  so  that  all  may  be  easily  referred  to  by  the  reader  of 
the  play. 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


To  the  Rcaden 

This  Figure,  that  thou  here  iccl'tpuL, 

h  was  lor  gcndc  Shakefpcare  cur,- 
VVhcrcm  the  Graucr  had  a  ilnfe 

with  Nature,  to  out-doo  the  life  : 
OjCOuid  he  but  hauedra  wnc  his  wit 

As  well  in  brafle,  as  he  hath  hit 
His  face  ,  the  Print  vvou Id  thenfurpanc 

All  tliat  x'T'as  euer  writ  in  brafle. 
But,  iince  he  cannot,  Reader,  lookc 

iSfocon  hiS  Pidure,  but  hisBooke. 

B.I. 


The  Meaning  of  the  Poem 

A   humorous   sigh.    L.    L.   L.   IV.    1.    196 
And   I   the   fool.    L.    L.    L.    ill.    1.    191(i. 


Plate   V. 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


The  Meaning  of  the  Figure 

Climb  o'er  the  house  to  unlock  the  gate.  L.  L.  L.  I.  1.  3.  Folio  1623. 

The  Figure  as  seen  at  the  Court  of  Navari-e. 

The   suspicious  head  of  theft.   L.  L.   L.  IV.  3.   336. 

By  raising  the  head   Bacon's  letter  is   seen.     See  pp   11-13. 

This  is  the  tune  of  our  catch  played  by  the  picture  of  Nobody. 

—The  Tempest,  III.  2.  136. 


Plate  VI. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE  ANATOMY  AND  MEANING  OF  THE  FIGURE 
on  the  Title-page  of  Folio  of  1623. 

Study  his  bias  leaves  and 

makes  his  book  thine  eyes. 

L.  L.  L.  IV.  3  .113. 

Since  my  visit  to  the  Court  of  Navarre  I  have  pro- 
cured a  facsimile  copy  of  the  Great  Folio  of  1623  of  the 
Shakespeare  Plays.  I  have  examined  it  closely  both  as  to 
the  picture  on  the  title-page  and  the  work  itself,  and  found 
that  it  is  identical  with  the  one  I  saw  at  the  Old  Court. 

It  is  now  my  pleasing  task  to  point  out  and  demon- 
strate the  anatomy  and  meaning  of  this  picture  as  told  us 
in  the  preceeding  chapter,  from  the  notes  in  the  Old  Folio. 

The  author  of  the  Plays  has  not  left  us  in  the  dark 
concerning  the  meaning  of  this  picture,  which  he  calls  a 
'Figure,'  the  term  we  shall  hereafter  use.  Indeed,  he  has 
taken  extreme  pains  to  insure  to  us  the  fullest  and  most 
complete  understanding  of  what  This  Figure,  this  most  im- 
portant part  of  his  Great  Book,  stands  for. 

This  explanatory  evidence  we  find  in  three  parts  of 
his  works. 

1.  In  the  Introductory  Poem  opposite  The  Figure. 

2.  In  the  Plays  themselves. 

3.  In  the  Sonnets. 

These  will  be  referred  to  as  we  go  along. 
As  already  told  us,  the  letter  B,  the  first  part 
of  his  name,  is  the  collar  of  The  Figure,  partly  covered 
by  the  head.  This  is  so  plain  that  after  it  is  pointed  out  to 
us,  and  once  seen,  we  wonder  we  did  not  see  this  before.  It 
is  the  shaded  portion  on  the  top  of  the  collar  and  lies  back- 


16 

ward.  See  facsimile  pi.  IV  and  VI.  This  shade  is  the  visible 
parts  of  B ;  the  middle  bar  is  seen  in  front  under  the  chin ;  it 
appears  as  a  flap  with  a  notch  on  each  side,  and  it  should 
be  noted  that  the  notches  do  not  pass  through  the  colla)'. 
It  shows  that  the  B  is  laid,  as  it  were,  on  top  of  the  collar, 
and  is  made  to  appear  as  a  collar.  Removing  the  head  of 
the  Figure  the  whole  letter  comes  plainly  into  view  (pi.  VI). 
The  very  shape  of  the  collar,  its  square  front  and  sharp  corn- 
ers, should  make  us  suspicious  of  its  meaning.  On  top  of  the 
collar  are  painted  several  spear-points,  and  the  whole  figure 
bristles  with  defiant  challenge  to  find  it  out.  It  is  very  sug- 
gestive of  the  name,  'Shake-speare.'  In  Love's  Labour  Lost,. 
V.  2.  600  ff .  the  collar  with  the  rest  of  the  body  is  called  a 
Judas,  a  traitor ;  for  having  seen  this  letter  B  you  will  look 
for  the  other  letters  of  his  name,  and  the  more  easily  find 
them.  As  we  shall  see  in  Chapter  III  there  are  many  other 
references  to  this  letter. 

The  next  letter  we  would  naturally  look  for  is  A,  the 
second  of  Bacon's  name.  It  is  found  lying  under  B.  Bearing 
in  mind  that  the  apparent  right  arm  and  chest  of  The  Figure 
is  but  the  back  part  of  the  left  arm  and  chest  we  find  A  as 
follows:  The  inkle,  or  tape,  extending  from  the  apparent 
right  shoulder  to  the  neck  is  one  of  the  long  bars,  or  legs,  of 
A,  and  from  this  near  the  top  of  it  is  seen  half  of  the  cross- 
bar. Thus  we  have  half  of  A,  and  knowing  that  this  is  the 
back  part  of  the  Figure's  left  the  other  half  is  readily  under- 
stood. A  can  also  be  made  up  as  seen  in  front  of  The  Figure, 
the  inkle  running  up  from  the  left  shoulder  being  the  other 
leg ;  but  this  is  not  the  author's  intention,  as  this  inkle  is  in 
reality  the  same  as  that  seen  passing  up  from  the  apparent 
right  shoulder. 

That  A  lies  under  B  is  corrobrated  in  L.  L.  L.  V.  2.  584 
in  the  play  or  pun  on  the  name  Alexander,  changed  into 
Alisander*,  which  pronounced  slowly  gives  the  meaning  in- 


*It  is  probable  that  the  word  Alisander  and,  indeed,  the  conception  of 
the  whole  Figure  came  to  Bacon  from  a  poem  entitled:  "Alisaunder  of 


17 

tended — A-lies-imder,  'Alisander, — alas  you  see  how  'tis, — 
a  little  'o'r  parted.'  Here  he  tells  you  exactly  that  A  'lies 
under/  and  is  overparted,  divided  into  two  parts,  as  we  really 
see  only  half  of  A,  the  other  half  being  on  the  other  half 
back-part  of  The  Figure  that  could  not  be  drawn.  The  same 
idea  is  also  shown  to  us  in  the  pun  on  Aquitaine,  L.  L.  L. 
Chapter  1.  148:  A-quit-A-in,  i.  e.,  A  quit,  yet  A  is  in  The 
Figure:  'Aquitaine,  so  gelded  (i.  e.,  cut)  as  it  is.'  As  a 
matter  of  fact  A  is  cut  exactly  in  two.  A  is  also  *o'r 
parted'  by  B. 

Further  corroboration  is  found  in  L.  L.  L.  V.  1.  150  ff 
where  he  speaks  of  BA  'spelled  backward:' 

Moth.  What  is  a  b  spelt  backward  with  a  horn  on  his 
head? 

Hoi.  B  A  puericia  with  a  horn  added.  Puericia  is  for 
the  Latin  pueritia,  purposely  spelt  with  c  to  fool  the  unitiat- 
ed  of  its  too  plain  meaning.  The  appearance  of  the  face  of 
The  Figure  in  the  Folio  of  1623  is  that  of  a  youth :  witness 
the  few  small  hair  for  a  beard ;  hence,  'pueritia,'  youth.  The 
'horn  added'  is  a  horn  for  blowing,  hid  under  the  hair  of  the 
left  side  of  The  Figure,  the  hair  on  this  account  being  made 
to  bulge  out,  and  the  tip  of  the  horn  shows  a  sort  of  ear, — 
a  very  ingenious  contrivance.  The  Figure  as  the  Cupid 
to  his  Muse  carries  the  same  idea  of  youth.  Instead  of 
bow  he  has  a  horn.  Besides,  the  B  can  be  regarded  as  the 
bow  and  the  spear  points  as  the  arrows'  points.  So  he  has 
both  bow  and  horn.    The  horn  is  a  symbol  of  music. 

Having  found  B  A  we  naturally  look  eagerly  for  the 
other  letters  of  his  name,  if  they  can  possibly  be  there.  The 
remaining  ones  are  CON.  As  you  look  carefully  over  The 
Figure  to  discover  more  letters  you  discern  a  shaded  band 

Macedoine,"  which  reads: — 

A  brem  brasen  borde  brings  he  soone 

Imped  in  ivory,  too  inkle  the  truthe 

With  good  silver  and  golde  gailich  attired." 

Early   English   Text    Society   1.    615.      See   Article   "inkle,"    Century 

Dictionary. 


18 

extending  outward  to  the  shouldei's  on  each  side.  These 
shaded  bands  are  plainly  visible  and  are  seen  even  in  reduc- 
ed facsimiles.  The  upper  border  of  each  extends  outward 
from  the  level  of  the  middle  of  the  sixth  button  from  the 
top  and  extends  in  breadth  to  the  level  of  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  button.  The  band  on  The  Figure's  left  (reader's 
right)  is  exactly  six-twelfths  inch  wide  in  the  Folio,  the 
other  on  the  Figure's  right  is  a  trifle  wider,  being  seven- 
twelfths  inch.  These  shaded  bands  form,  the  one  on  The 
Figure's  left  (reader's  right)  the  middle  bar  of  the  letter 
R,  and  the  one  on  The  Figure's  right  the  middle  bar  of  F. 
See  Plates  IV.  and  VI.  The  other  parts  of  R  are  made  up 
from  the  inkle  next  the  row  of  buttons  in  front ;  then  a  short 
bar  extending  upwards  to  the  right  under  the  collar,  thence 
to  the  left  shoulder,  then  a  semi-circular  sweep  in  front  of 
the  same,  forming  a  complete  R,  of  commanding  proportions 
and  graceful  outline.  Similarly,  F  is  seen  on  what  appears 
as  the  Figure's  right  side  (reader's  left.)  The  upright  bar, 
its  leg,  is  the  inkle  passing  up  the  shoulder  to  its  top ;  from 
here  it  extends  to  the  neck  of  The  Figure,  forming  the  top 
bar  of  F ;  the  middle  bar  is  the  shaded  band  discribed  above. 
Thus  we  have  FR  which  is  the  abreviation  of  Francis  used 
by  Bacon.  This  is  the  abbreviation  of  his  name  used  also  on 
the  title-page  of  his  book  De  Augmentis  Scientiarum. 

In  Love's  Labour  Lost  IV.  3.  23  he  gives  a  hint  of 
these  bars  when  he  says :  'thou  hast  thumped  him  with  thy 
bird-bolt  under  the  left  pap.  In  faith,  secrets.'  [There  is 
no  right  'pap'  in  The  Figure,  (the  right  side  being  the  back- 
part  of  the  left  side.)  ] 

CON  remain  now  to  make  up  the  name  Bacon.  They 
are  found  on  the  (left)  shoulder,  and  arm  (being  but  one 
arm  and  shoulder  complete,  front  and  back.)  In  L.  L.  L. 
IV.  3.  89  he  hints  at  this:  'Her  shoulder  is  with  child'  (con. 
concept.)  The  inkle  forming  the  semi-circular  sweep  of  R 
around  the  sholder  forms  the  letter  C.  The  armlet  or  wide 
band  passing  around  the  entire  arm  next  to  the  shoulder 
forms  the  letter  0.    N  is  formed  in  the  following  manner: 


19 

Kemembering  that  what  appears  as  the  Figure's  right 
arm  and  right  breast  is  the  back-part  of  the  left  arm  and 
breast*,  then  the  long  vertical  bar  of  F,  its  leg,  is  one  of  the 
vertical  bars  of  N ;  from  the  lower  end,  or  foot,  of  this  bar 
a  light  streak  like  a  beam  of  light,  narrower  at  the  lower 
end,  is  seen  passing  upward  and  forward  (forward,  because 
on  the  back-part  of  the  left  arm)  over  the  arm;  being  on 
the  back-part  of  the  left  arm  (in  The  Figure  appearing  as 
a  right  arm)  we  must  look  for  the  continuation  of  the  hght 
streak  in  front  of  the  (left)  arm  seen  on  the  left  side  of  the 
Figure  (the  reader's  right)  where,  indeed,  it  is  seen  plainly, 
even  in  reduced  facsimiles,  continued  until  it  meets  with  the 
inkle,  the  longitudinal  border,  running  lengthwise  in  front 
of  the  arm,  and  there  it  ends,  as  it  should.  This  fact  is  a 
proof  positive  that  what  appears  as  The  Figure's  right  side 
is  but  the  back  part  of  its  left.  This  light  streak  forms  the 
middle  or  connecting  bar  of  N,  and  the  longitudinal  bar  pass- 
ing in  front  lengthwise  of  the  arm  is  the  other  vertical  bar 
of  N.  The  name  FR.  BACON  is  complete  to  our  entire  sat- 
isfaction. The  picture  which  the  author  himself  in  the  In- 
troductory Poem  calls  a  'Figure'  is  seen  to  be  nothing  but 
a  figure.  Bacon's  Great  Monogram. 

Intimation  of  CON,  the  last  part  of  Bacon's  name,  is 
found  in  several  places  of  L.  L.  L.  Thus  in  III.  1.  2.  the  word 
*Concolinel  is  con  co-line  L;  here  the  whole  syllable  'con'  is 
given,  and  calls  L  the  co-line ,  form  of  L  on  the  front  side  of 
the  left  arm,  and  is  the  'co-line,'  the  completing  line  of  N. 

This  he  calls  the  'Key,'  for  so  it  truly  is ;  it  is  the  key 
to  his  complete  name,  and  thus  makes  of  The  Figure  a  per- 
fect monogram : 

Take  this  Key,  give  enlargement  to  the  swaine,  bring 
him  f estinately  hither :  I  must  employ  him  in  a  letter  to  my 

*It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  two  English  sartorial  trade  journ- 
als, "Tailor  and  Cutter,"  and  "Gentlemen's  Tailor  Magazine,"  have 
recently  discussed  this  feature  of  The  Figure  without  grasping  the 
meaning  of  The  Figure  as  a  whole,  asserting  that  the  right  side  of  it 
is  the  back  part  of  the  left.     See  "Shakespeare  Myth,"  page  6. 


23 


Love.  III.  1.  5.    The  'swaine'  is  The  Figure,  his  'Love'  is  his 
Muse. 

This  cutting-  of  N  into  two  parts,  as  it  were,  is  play- 
fully referred  to  in  Act  V.  2.  57  ff.  as  a  'sore.'  But  more  about 
this  in  the  next  chapter. 


The  Introductory  Poem 

See  Plates  III  and  V 

You  will  now  understand  the  true  meaning  of  the  In- 
troductory Poem  printed  on  the  fly-leaf  opposite  The  Figure 
on  the  title-page  of  the  Folio  of  1623.  As  you  read  this  poem- 
you  can  hear  many  a  chuckle  and  laugh  all  through  it.  It  is 
a  jest,  a  'humorous  sigh,'  L.  L.  L.  III.  1.  176,  or  play  on  'This 
Figure,'  which  is  thus  shown  up  to  be  his  Great  Signature 
to  'his  book,'  the  Immortal  Plays. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  what  the  meaning  is  of  these 
verses.    He  tells  us : — 

"The  Graver  had  a  strife 
With  Nature  to  outdo  the  life." 
meaning  that  the  picture  is  not  to  represent  a  real  person, 
but  to  put  out,  to  hide  the  Author's  life  as  author.    Outdo 
means  to  put  out,  to  extinguish. 

'Wit'  in  the  fifth  and  'Print'  in  the  seventh  hne  both 
mean  'face,'  the  head,  as  is  shown  by  'was  ever  writ.'  'Was 
— writ'  rivets  our  attention  because  the  w's  are  each  print- 
ed with  two  v's.  They  are  put  there  to  give  us  a  hint,  that 
something  is  actually  'writ'  in  the  Figure.  'Hit'  has  play- 
fully a  two-fold  meaning:  hit,  and  hidden. 

'Brass'  has  a  double  meaning. 

First.  The  custom  of  using  brass  in  funeral  monu- 
ments. It  was  usually  of  rectangular  shape,  and  often  of 
large  size,  incased  with  an  effigy,  coat  of  arms,  inscriptions, 
etc.  But  specifically  it  refers  to  The  Figure.  As  before 
noted  the  w's  in  'was  ever  writ'  are  made  up  each  of  two  v's 
to  show  that  some  meaning  not  at  first  apparent  is  to  be  dis- 
cerned.   By  omitting  the  adverb  'ever'  you  get  the  catagor- 


^ 

jcal  statement,  the  hint,  that  something  is  ah^eady  writ- 

:ten  in  The  Figure,  'was ^writ,'  and  this  somethiTig  is> 

■as  we  have  seen,  his  own  name.  If  his  *wit,'  i.e.,  his  face, 
•could  have  been  drawn  as  well  as  he  has  hid  it,'  it  would 
then  surpass  (i.  e.,  overtop  his  name-)  'All  that  was  (  )writ 
in  brass,'  i.e.,  in  The  Figure. 

Sscond.  "Brass,"  as  used  in  machinery;  as  such  it 
means  a  bearing  or  collar,  supporting  a  gudgcoTi*.  In  this 
sense  the  author  calls  the  collar,  on  which  the  letter  B  'is 
writ,'  the  ^brass,'  supporting  the  gudgeon  head  of  The 
Figure.  Gudgeon  is  a  bait;  an  allurement;  something  used 
to  deceive  ar  entrap  a  person ;  a  cheat ;  a  lie.f  How  true  it 
comes,  Vhen  to  truth  translated  and  for  true  things 
deemed !'     (Sonnet  96.) 

The  Introductory  Poem  is  apparently  signed  by  one. 
B.I.,  until  now  taken  to  mean  Ben  Johnso:\J  I  say  apparent- 
ly, for  this  is  only  a  fool — signature,  to  'fool'  the  unwary> 
the  unitiated,  unsuspecting  of  its  true  m  e  a  n  i  n  g, 
— 'and  I  the  fool,'  L.  L.  L.  III.  1.  196,—  as  well  as  the  true 
meaning  of  the  Poem  itself,  and  is  no  signature  whatever. 
It  is  simply  the  common  Middle  English  form  of  the  prepo- 
sition by,  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  be,  in  composition  with 
nouns  bi,§  and  is  here  made  to  appear  as  the  initials  of  a 
name  by  the  use  of  points  and  capitals.  It  is  placed  as  a 
catch-word  to  the  next  page.  The  noun  following  the  prep- 
osition bi  is  here  Bacon's  name  in  the  Monogram  on  the  title- 
page,  and  must  be  read  together,  thus : 

This  Figure  that  thou  here  seest  put, 

It  was  for  gentle  Shakespeare  cut. 

Wherein  the  Graver  had  a  strife 

With  Nature  to  out-doo  the  life. 

O,  could  he  but  have  drawn  his  wit 
As  well  in  brass  as  he  hath  hit 


*  Century  Dictionary,  Art.  brass. 
tCentury  Dictionary,  Art.  gudgeon. 
tSee  "The  Shakespeare  Myth,"  page  7. 
§See  Century  Dictionary,  Art,  bi. 


22 

His  face;  the  Print  would  then  surpass 

All  that  Was  ever  Writ  in  brass. 
But  since  he  cannot,  Reader,  do  not  look 
On  his  Picture,  but  his  Book 

by  FR.  BACON. 
Here,  then,  we  see  that  Bacon  has  his  name  printed 
on  the  title-page  of  his  book,  like  any  other  author  would 
do.  What  has  been  taken  to  be  a  portrait  of  one  'Shake- 
speare' is  seen  to  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  name  of 
the  Great  Author  in  the  form  of  a  Monogram  with  a  mask 
on. 

Verily,  we  have  seen  'where  light  in  darkness  liesi* 

L.  L.  L.,  I.  1.  78. 


To  the  Rcicltr. 


7  ;,.-I  imirr,thj(thoi:hc 
Ijwj^lor jrnilc  shj 

VV  herein ihcGrj>,'    . 
wiiiiNiuirc,  to. 

O..  ,1    nv.-liuilui.: 

Ai  well  in  brailc  . , 
i '  ■'■■..c    ihcl'riniv 


SH  AKl  SPEARF.S 


■  '  'Ml  niis, 
'ii>  I  or,  I i.s,  i- 

1  HAGl.lMhS. 


The  'Master  Schoolmaster'  and  'Master  Parson'  a  'Quasi-Person'. 

And  if  one  should  be  pierced,  which  is  the  one  ? 

Marry,  Master  Schoolmaster,  he  that  is  like'st  to  a  hogshead. 

L.  L.  L.  IV.  2.  84-87. 


Plate  VII. 


CHAPTER  HI 

Is^OTES  TO  LOVE'S   LABOUR  LOST 

How  careful  was  L  when  I  took  my  way, 
Each  trifle  under  truest  bars  to  thrust, 
That  to   my   use  it   might  unused   stay 
From  hands  of  falsehood,  in  sure  wards  of  trust. 

Sonnet  XLVIIL 

Bacon  has  taken  every  precaution  to  have  his  name 
known  and  handed  down  to  posterity  in  connection  with  his 
Great  Plays,  in  fact,  it  is  so  built  into  and  interwoven  in  his 
poetry  that  his  name  is  inseparable  from  it.  His  name  is 
part  and  parcel  of  Love's  Labour  Lost,  the  very  foundation 
of  the  whole  play. 

Love's  Labour  Lost  is  based  entirely  on  The  Figure 
in  order  to  explain  the  meaning  of  it,  protraying  the  relation 
he  assumed  toward  his  own  Muse,  as  typefied  by  'This 
Figure.'  The  very  name  of  the  play  is  an  intimation  that 
it  may  reveal  something  special  regarding  his  works.  He 
was  wont  to  call  his  poetical  compositions  a  "Labor  of  Love," 
and  hence  the  name  of  this  play.  His  'Love's  Labour'  was 
'Lost'  to  him  through  the  voluntary  relation  he  assumed 
toward  his  Muse  by  means  of  his  nom  de  plume  'Shake- 
speare' behind  which  he  securely  hid  himself.  He  was 
anxious  that  only  in  time  to  come,  in  the  future,  he  should 
be  known  as  the  author  of  the  Plays. 

To  make  sure  that  we  understand  The  Figure  to  be 
his  name  and  signature  to  his  Great  Book  it  was  necessary 
to  write  this  play.  Otherwise  The  Figure  might,  perhaps, 
never  have  been  understood  to  mean  this  and  nothing  else. 
Even  as  it  is,  in  the  light  of  this  play,  it  has  still  never  been 
understood  before,  for  a  lapse  of  time  of  close  to  three  hun- 


2^ '      ■ 

dred  years,  until  as  we  see  this  letter  calls  our  special  at- 
tention to  it,  and  explains  it  to  us. 

The  Elizabethan  era  was  noted  for  its  pun  or  verbal 
quibble.  It  prevaded  all  classes,  high  and  low  alike.  Macauly 
says  of  it : 

"The  Puritans  hated  puns.  The  Bishops  were  notor- 
iously addicted  to  them.  Tlie  Lords  temporal  can-fed  them- 
to  the  verg-e  of  license.  Majesty  itself  must  have  its  quib- 
ble. "Ye  be  burly,  my  Lord  of  Burleigh,"  said  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, "  but  ye  shall  make  less  stir  in  our  realm"  than  my 
Lord  of  Leiscester."  The  gi'avest  wisdom  and  the  highest 
breeding  lent  their  sanction  to  the  practice.  Lord  Baconi 
playfully  declared  himself  a  descendent  of  "Og^,  the  King  of 
Bashan." 

Little  wonder  that  we  find  echoes  of  this  in  his  Shaken 
speare.  No  finer  examples  of  wit  can  be  found  anywhere- 
than  in  "Love's  Labour  Lost," — it  is  pure  wit  throughout. 
Bacon  is  seen  to  be  the  master  of  pans,  the  very  King  of 
Je&ters. 

In  this  play  every  proper  name  is  chosen  because  of 
one  or  more  playful  meaning's  that  can  be  brought  out  of  it, 
either  through  the  spelling  or  the  sound,  or  both,  and  some- 
times in  the  meaning'  of  the  name  itself. 

The  following"  notes  are  those  which  I  was  able  to 
copy  from  the  Old  Folio  already  mentioned.  These  are  not 
all  the  notes  that  are  seen  there ;  some  minor  ones  are  omit- 
ted because  of  lack  of  time  in  copying  them,  as  well  as  be- 
cause some  were  more  or  less  illegible.  I  have  here  set  them 
forth  in  order  with  references. 

The  scene  of  the  play  is  laid  at  Navarre  (Nowhere.) 
The  King  is  Bacon  himself,  the  King  of  Muse. 

Biron  is  the  B.  L,  the  fool-signature  of  the  In- 
troductory Poem,  as  its  author. 
Duniain  (do  main)  is  Bacon  as  the  author  or 
doer  of  the  whole  part  of  his  poetical  works, 
i.  e.,  the  Plays. 
Longaville,  in  the  Folio  1623  also  Longavill, 


25 

both  spellings  being  used,  long-a-will,  i.  e.,  long 
to  be  known  as  Will.  Shakespeare,  is  Bacon,  as 
author  of  the  Sonnets. 

These  three  are  Lords  attending  on  the 
King. 

The  Princess  of  France  (Francis)  is  Bacon's  Muse, 
his  Plays,  wooed  by  the  King. 

Rosaline  (sub-)rosa-line,  is  the  Introductory 
Poem  or  Line  to  his  Book,  hiding  or  covering 
up  his  name,  with  the  capitals  B.  L  as  fool- 
signature,  and  is  wooed  by  Biron. 
Katharine  (meaning  pure,  clear,  as  emblem- 
atical of  his  poetry)  is  the  Great  Plays  proper, 
wooed  by  Dumain. 

Maria  (meaning  grief,  sorrow)  is  the  Sonnets, 
wooed  by  Longavill.  In  the  Sonnets  Bacon  ex- 
presses his  grief  or  sorrow  over  his  lost  Love, 
his  Muse. 

These  three  are  Ladies  attending  on  the 
Princess. 

Boyet  (boy-yet),  i.e.,  of  youthful  looks,  is 
'Will  Shakespeare.'  Keep  in  mind  the  answer 
of  Holof ernes  in  Act  V.  1.  52:  'pueritia  with  a 
horn  added.'  Notice  small  hair  on  lips  of  The 
Figure,  the  Cupid  to  his  Muse. 
Mercade,  from  Mercury,  as  the  God  of  dark- 
ness, the  tutelary  deity  of  the  thieves  and 
tricksters  is  'Shakespeare'  his  nom  de  plume, 
under  which  he  marketed  his  Plays. 

These  two  are  Lords    attending  on    the 
Princess. 

Armado  of  Spain  (span,  short)  is  the  front 
side  of  the  left  arm  of  the  Figure,  being  only  a 
stump,  a  span. 

Moth  (pronounced  mote;  see  note  on  this  by 
Gollancz;  from  mote  and  beam,  IV.  3.  161  to 
162,  in  allusion  to  the  beam  of  light  or  white 


26 


streak  as  the  middle  or  connecting  bar  of  the 
N  passing  over  the  apparent  right  arm)  is  the 
apparent  right  arm  of  The  Figure.  Being  the 
back-part  of  the  left  arm  he  is  called  page  to 
Armado. 

Costard,  originally   meaning  a  'ribbed'  apple, 
is  the  head  of  The  Figure. 
Jaquenetta  (Jack-queen-etta)   [Jack,  the  Jok- 
er] represents   The   Figure  as   a  whole,   as  a 
Joker. 

Nathaniel  is  Ben  Jonson.  Nathaniel  means 
'gift  of  God,'  and  Jon  in  'Jonson'  is  from  the 
Greek  Johannes  meaning  'the  Lord  graciously 
gave.'  He  was  one  of  the  few  chosen  ones,  and 
the  chief  one,  of  those  initiated  into  Bacon's 
Mysteries  and  Secrets  of  his  authorship  of 
these  plays  and  of  his  nom  de  plume;  as  such 
he  could  write  the  Prologue  'vilely  penn'd'  in 
the  Folio.  His  'parishoners'  were  those  others 
so  informed. 

Holof ernes  (whole- of -errness,)  the  teacher, 
represents  the  body  of  The  Figure  minus  the 
head,  hence  FR.  BACON.  It  is  the  whole  of 
error,  but  at  the  same  time  the  teacher,  the 
informer,  containing  and  teaching  the  name 
'Fr.  Bacon,'  and  that  he,  therefore,  is  the  auth- 
or of  the  Book.  This  character  is  taken  from 
Rabelais's  'Gargantua  and  Pantagruel.'  It  is 
also  spelled  Holophernes.  It  should  be  noted 
that  of  the  two  spellings  Bacon  chose  the  form- 
er as  best  suited  to  his  purpose.  Holofernes 
teaches  Gargantua  to  say  the  alphabet  back- 
ward in  5  years  and  3  months. 
Dull,  a  constable,  represents  all  those  that  are 
not  informed  of  Bacon's  secret  authorship, 
and  all  that  are  unable  to  the  present  day  to 
understand  or  to  see  this;  all  that  have  been 


27 

or  are  yet  misled  by  the  Introductory  Poem 
and  The  Figure  in  spite  of  all  the  hints  and 
allusions  in  this  Play. 


ACT  I.    SCENE  I. 


1.  The  opening  speech  of  the  King  is  very  fine 

and  in  harmony  with  the  purpose  of  the  play.  He 
speaks  of  the  endurance  of  fame — a  fit  opening  to 
this  play.  'Brazen  tombs'  reminds  us  of  the  expres- 
sion 'was  ever  writ  in  brass,'  and  of  the  first  lines  of 
Sonnet  65 : 

"Since  brass,  nor  stone  nor  earth  nor  boundless  sea, 
But   sad   mortality   o'er — sways  their   power,"   etc. 

8.  "Brave    Conquerors"    because    they    war 

against  their  desire  for  fame.    This  is  significant. 

12.  What  is  revealed  in  this  play  is  truly  the 

'wonder  of  the  world';  it  is  a  little  Academe  to  all 
that  'have  wits  to  read.'  See  Ben  Jonson's  Preface 
to  the  Folio. 

16.  He  speaks  of  'three  years'    term'    'to    keep 

those  statutes,'  the  secrets  of  his  authorship.  That 
he  thought  a  long  time  would  elapse  before  it  would 
be  seen,  is  certain,  both  from  the  name  Longavill 
and  from  numerous  other  intimations  in  this  play 
as  well  as  in  the  Sonnets ;  he  may  well  have  thought 
of  three  hundred  years. 

24.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Longaville  read- 

ily gives  his  assent  to  the  statutes. 

26.  "Dainty   bits,"  i.  e.,    witty    sayings,    "make 

rich  the  ribs"  with  laughter,  "but  bankrupt  quite 
the  wits."    Wit  is  well  nigh  exhausted  in  this  play. 

28.  Unlike  Longaville,  Dumain  is  less  inclined  to 

subscribe  his  name  to  those  statutes  of  secrecy; 
which  is  what  we  should  respect  from  him  as  author 
of  the  Plays.  He  is  inclined  to  let  this  be  known,to 
"love,  to  wealth,  to  pump  and  with  all  these  living 


28 


in  philosophy,"  in  his  Plays. 

37.  The  following-  speeches  of  Biron  and  of  the 

King  are  fine.  When  Biron  speaks  of  "woman"  and 
of  "ladies",  it  is,  of  course,  in  personification  of  their 
Muse  as  their  "loves."  The  same  meaning  is  found 
in  the  Sonnets,  where  Bacon  apostrophizes  his  Muse, 
the  Plays,  as  "his  love,"  "  his  lady,"  etc.  The  same 
is    seen    when    Birorl    uses    the    expression    "some 

63.     Mistress  fine." 

108.  "So  you,  to  study  now  it  is  too  late, 

109.  Climb  o'er  the  house  to  unlock  the  little  gate,"  in  the 
Folio  of  1623  which  is  that  authorized  by  the  author 
it  reads: 

"That  were  to  climb  o'er  the  house  to  un- 
lock the  gate." 
This  is  a  hint  to  find  the  letter  B  in  the  collar  by 
climbing  over  the  house,  the  head  of  The  Figure, 
by  raising  it  or  removing  it,  when  you  "unlock  the 
gate,"  the  first  letter  of  his  name.  The  head  of 
The  Figure  is  truly  a  "house,"  covering  up  or  hous- 
ing his  name,  and  the  B  is  truly  the  "gate"  to  his 
whole  name  and  so  to  his  hidden  authorship. 

138.  Here  the  poet  uses  the  name  Aquitaine  with 

a  purpose.  It  is  chosen  for  the  reason  that  it  gives 
the  meaning  intended,  to  give  a  hint  at  the  next 
letter  A  of  his  name  and  how  to  find  it.  A-quit-a-ine, 
i.  e.,  A  quit  (yet)  A  (is)  in  (The  Figure,)  and  means 
that  the  A  is  in  two  parts,  only  half  of  the  letter 
is  seen,  both  parts  being  understood  to  be  on  back- 
part  of  The  Figure.  (See  plate  VI.)  That  this  is 
the  meaning  intended  is  fully  confirmed  in  Act  II.  1 
149:  "Acquitaine,  so  gelded  as  it  is,"  i.  e.,  it  is  cut 
exactly  in  two.  In  Act  V.  2.  589  it  is  called  "a 
little  o'er-parted." 

The  father  of  the    Princess    of  France,  is 
Bacon  as  father  of  the  Muse  of  Francis  (Bacon.) 

163.  In  the  King's  speech  he  brings  in  Armado, 


29 

i.  e.,  the  arm  of  The  Fig-ure,  "a  child  of  fancy," 
*'a  man  of  complements"  (CON,  the  complement  of 

166.  *'Bacon"  elsewliere  called  'a  mint  of  phrases'), 
"whom  right  and  wrong  (side  of  arm)  have  chose 
as  umpire  of  their  mutiny'"  to  make  up  CON. 

178.  Biron    calls   Armado   a  man  of  "fire    new" 

words. 

189.  In  line  189  Dull  calls  Armado  an  *'Arrie." 

What  can  be  a  plainer  hint  at  the  meaning  of  the 
teiTn? 

191.  In  hue  191  Costard  says:  "The  contempts 

thereof  are  as  touching  me,"  meaning  of  course,  the 
contents.  But  this  is  a  hint,  an  intimation,  wliat 
we  shall  think  of  Costard,  the  head  of  The  Figure, 
that  we  shall  have  "contempt"for  it,  disraga.'d  it, 
consider  it  as  not  belonging  there,  that  it  is  to  be 
removed.    In  Sonnet  67  it  is  called  "false  painting." 

207.  Costard     says     he     "was     seen     with     her 

(Jaquenetta)  in  the  manor  house,  sitting  with  her 
upon  the  form."  The  Folio  containing  The  Figure, 
is  the  "manor  house,"  Bacon  being  the  "Master 
Parson"  (page  38)  "the  form"  is  the  body  of  The 
Figure,  Bacon's  Monogram,  "following  her  into  the 
park,"  i.  e.,  the  field  covered  by  his  Plays. 

221.  Most  of  what  the  King  reads  can  be  under- 

stood by  a  little  reflection. 

342.  "Obscene  and  most  preposterous  event"  hints 

at  Costard,  the  head,  being  put  there  to  cover  up 
the  meaning  of  The  Figure. 

246.  "Curious-knotted    garden,"    alludes    to   this 

247.  Play.  Costard  is  called  "that  low-spirited  swain," 
"that  base  minnow  of  thy  mirth,"  i.  e.,  of 
Bacon's    mirth:    "that    unlettered    small    knowing 

252.  soul,"  "that  shallow  vasal  which,  as  I  re- 
member, knight  Costard."  The  rest  of  the  letter  as 
the  King  reads  it  is  also  very  suggestive  and  in- 
teresting. 


m 


To    be    taken    with     Janquenetta    Costard! 

31S.  calls  "the  sour  cup  of  prosperity."  So  long  as  the; 

head  (Costard)  is  tal^en  with  The  Figure  it  means. 

prosperity    for  "Shakespeai*e"    (Costard,)    Bacon's^ 

nom  de  plume,  but  is  "sour  cup'*  for  Bacon. 


ACT  I.  SCENE  IL 

f.  The  conversation  of  Armado  and  Moth  fs  also^ 

informing  and  apt.  The  expressions  "tender 
Juvenal,"  "tough  senor,"  "eel,"  "crossed,"  have  all' 
special  meaning  as  allusions.     In  line 

55,  55  Moth  speaks  of  "three  studied,"  this  hints- 

at  the  three  letters  CON  on  the  arm ;  and,  further, 
he  speaks  of  study  "three  years  in  two  words."' 
These  two  words  are,  of  course,  "Francis 

S7.  Bacon."  In  line  57  The  Figure  is  called  the 

"dancing  horse;"  a  similar  expression  is  used  in 

Act  III.  1.  36,  where  it  is  called  the  "hobby-horse." 

Throughout    their    conversation    there  are 

"rich  bits" — allusions,  which  the    reader  will  find 

100.  pleasure  in  perusing.  Thus  Moth  in  line  100 :  "My 
father's  wit  and  my  mother's  tongue  assist  me:" 
"father"  is  Bacon;  "mother"  the  Muse. 

The  little  song  following  is  also  full  of  mean- 
ing for  the  reader. 

114.  The  ballad  of  King  Caphetua  and  the  Beggar- 

maid  may  be  found  in  Percy's  Reliques.  He  was  a 
legendary  African  King  who  wooed  and  married 
Penelophon,  a  beggar-maid. 

164.  What  Costard  says  is  significant.    The  mean- 

ing is,  of  course,  that  when  the  false  head  is  dis- 
covered, which  is  desolation,  we  shall  all  see  Bacon 
in  The  Figure. 

The  speech  of  Armado  concluding  the  scene 
should  also  be  carefully  studied ;  it  is  full  of  playful 
allusions.  Near  the  end  of  it  "Sonnet"  is  mentioned 
for  the  first  time.    This  refers  to  Bacon's  Sonnets, 


the  subject  of  which  is  his  Love,  his  Muse,  the  Plays, 
and  therefore  the  Sonnets  stand  for  *'wh6le  voHimes 
in  folio;"  all  the  Plays  gathered  into  the  Great  Fo.io. 


ACT  n.  SCENE  I 

1.  "BoyBt's  speech  is  interesting.    He  tails,  tr.  ha 

should,  the  King  of  Na"  arre  "the  sole  irhenio^'  of 

<6.       all  perfections,"  "matchless  Navarre,"  all  referring 

•8.       to  Bacon  as  the  matchless  author. 

The  reply  of  the  Princess  to  Boyet,  that  ^he 

14.  ^'needs  not  the  painted  flourish  of  your  praise,"  is 
becoming  and  apropriate  in  its  allucions. 

39.  In  the  conversation  l^etv/cen  the  Princess  and 

lier  Ladies  it  should  be  noted  that  Maria  feov/s 
Longavill,  Katharine  knows  and  praises  Dtimain,  and 
Rosahne  Biron, — 

79  "every  one  her  own  hath  garnished."  This  is  proof 
of  the  meaning  of  these  names  as  explained  pre- 
viously. The  same  is  shown  up  in  Act  V.  2.  827  ff., 
where  each  is  wooed  by  her  appropriate  Lord. 

4L  Perigord  was  an  ancient  countship  of  Fra'".ce. 

It  is  here  changed  to  Perigort,  and  chosen  for  its 
resemblance  to  peri-girt,  i.  e.,  girt  about  or  around, 
in  allusion  to  himself  as  author,  his  name  being  well 
hedged  about. 

Jacques  (English  Jack)  Falcon  bridge  is  also 
appropriately  chosen  for  The  Figure.     His  heir  is 

205.  Rosahne  (IL  1.  205.)  Note  what  is  said  of 
Longavill. 

Duke  of  Alencon  (all-in-song,  i.  e.,  Bacon's 
Plays,  his  Muse)  is  Bacon,  the  author.  Alencon  was 
a  former  countship  and  duchy  of  France.  The  name 
is  chosen  because  of  its  meaning  seen  in  its  pro- 
nunciation. Bacon  is  truly  the  Duke  of  "All-in- 
Song."  Katharine  is,  of  course,  the  heir  to  Alencon 
(line  196.) 

98.  "Will,"  i.  e.,  "Will  Shakespeare." 


'^ 

In  the  conversation  of  Rosaline  and  Biron  we 
should  note  that  when  Rosaline  says:  "Not  till  it 

121.  leaves  the  rider  in  the  mire,"  the  allusion  is  to  the- 
nom  de  plume  "Shakespeare"  as  to  the  rider,  Cos- 
tard, the  head.  The  dull  ones,  the  "fools"  wiio  do* 
not  understand  the  allusion  "should  ask"  for  that 
day  when  they  can  see  it;  the  rider  will  then  be 
thrown  "in  the  mire,"  the  mask  of  his  Muse  will  fall- 
from  "the  face  it  covers."  (See  plate  IX,)  His  Muse 
will  then  get  "many  lovers,"  and.  Biron  (the  B.  I.) 
will  be  gone,  as  there  will  be  only  one — Bacon. 

136.  Aquitaine,  see  notes  upon.     The  meaning  of 

138.  the  word  as  there  set  forth  is  fully  confirmed  here 
in  the  King's  speech,  as  in  line  139:  "that  one-half 

139.  which  is  unsatisfied,"  as  well  as  where  the  ex- 
pression "gelded"  is  used. 

180.  The   remaining   parts   of  scene   I  beginning 

with  line  180  are  particularly  infomiing.     In  the 
conversation  of  Biron    ond   Rosaline    Biron  says: 

187.  "Would    that    do    it  good?"    whereupon    Rosaline 

188.  answers:  "My  physic  says  'ay'."  This  adverb  'ay' 
is  pronounced  like  the  long  sound  of  I.  Formerly  it 
was  also  written  at  ey,  but  at  its  first  appearance  in 
the  Elizabethan  period  it  was  invariably  printed  I, 
often  associated  in  puns  with  the  pronoun  I*.  Keep- 
ing in  mind  that  Rosaline  is  the  Introductory  Poem 
and  Biron  the  fool-signature  B.  I.  the  meaning  of 
their  conversation  becomes  quite  clear.  Her 
answer  will  then  read  "My  physic  says  T,"  the  I 
in  B.   I. 

189.  Biron:  "Will  you  prick't  with  your  eye?" 

190.  Ros :  No  point,  mith  my  knife."  This  would  seem 
to  mean  Biron.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  this  is  a 
catagorical  statement  that  there  is  to  be  "no  point" 
in  B.  I.  and  hence  would  be  only  BI,  or  bi.f    Note 

*Century  Dictionary,   art.   ay,  adverb. 
fSee  page  21. 


that  there  is  no  comma  after  "no"  in  "no  point,"  as 
there  would  be  if  the  meaning  were  to  call  Biron  a 
point.  "Knife"  alludes  to  the  scraping  out  of  the 
points  with  the  knife.  The  rest  of  the  conversation 
is  plain. 

195.  For  the  meaning  of  Alencon  and  Katharine 

see  ante  pp.  25.  31.  The  remainder  of  the  conversa- 
tion is  full  of  allusions,  jests,  and  puns.     Thus  in 

212.  line  212 :  "To  her  will,sir,  or  so,"  intimation  to  "Will" 
(Shakespeare)  is  given;  the  meaning  of  the  next 
two  lines  is  then  plain. 

224.  In  the  reply  of  Marie,  line  224,  "My  lips  are 

no  common,  though  several  they  be"  is  an  allusion 
to  the  Sonnets,  which  she  represents,  which  are 
"several"  in  number;  and  are  here  called  "lips"  of 
Maria  who  is  the  Sonnets. 

No  special  difficulties  are  encountered  in  the 
remaining  parts  of  Act  II. 


ACT  III.  SCENE  I. 

This  Act  is  especially    interesting    and  in- 
structive and  important. 
J..       Armado.  Warble,  child;  make  passionate  my  sense 

of  hearing. 
2.       Moth.  Concolinel. 

At  first  look,  this  last  word  "concolinel" 
seems  to  be  a  word  without  any  sense  or  meaning. 
But  it  is  full  of  sense  and  most  important  to  guide 
and  confirm  us  in  understanding  the  meaning  of  The 
Figure.  By  dividing  the  word  into  its  compotent 
parts,  thus:  con-co-line-1,  the  meaning  becomes  at 
once  apparent. 

Con  Co-line  L;  i.  e„  Con  is  the  last  syllable 
of  the  name  Bacon  which  he  wishes  to  suggest  and 
to  us  to  make  out  in  The  Figure.  It  is  found  on  the 
shoulder  and  arm  as  set  forth  in  Chapter  II.  The 
N  passes  over  and  across  the  arm  as  a  light  streak, 


34 


appearing  in  two  parts,  the  last  part  as  an  L  on  the 

right  arm.    This  part  he  calls  the  Co-line,  being  of 

the  shape  of  an  L.    This  is  the  "key"  spoken  of  in 

2.       the  next  two  lines:  "Take  this  Key,  give  enlarge- 

4.  ment  to  the  swain,  bring  him  festinately    hither, 

5.  I  must  employ  him  in  a  letter  to  my  Love."  (Both 
"Key"  and  "Love"  are  capitalized  in  theFoho.)  By 
"Swain"  is  meant  The  Figure  to  which  the  "Key" 
will  give  enlargement,  i.  e.,  by  understanding  the 
meaning  of  The  Figure  it  becomes  of  the  greatest 
importance  and  interest.  This  is  truly  the  Key  to 
Bacon's  "Shakespeare,"  his  "Love"  the  Great  Plays, 
his  Eternal  Muse. 

64.  66.  In  lines  64  and  66  the  arm  is  called  a  cannon 

37.  from  its  conical  shape ;  in  line  37  spoken  of  as  "cleav- 
ing the  pin" — the  arm  appears  as  a  cloven  pin,  being 
in  two  parts. 

125.  In  line  125  Costard  is  made  to  say:  Marry 
me  to  one  Frances;"  "Frances"  is  but  a  slight  var- 
iation of  Francis — Francis  Bacon. 

126.  In  the  next  line  Arm  says  he  will  set  Costard  at 
Liberty.  Costard  being  the  head  of  The  Figure  the 
intimation  is  seen  to  be  to  set  it  free  from  The 
Figure,  i.  e.,  to  remove  it,  whereby  the  letter  B 
comes  squarely  into  view.     This  is  the  letter  re- 

134.  f erred  to  in  line  134,  called  "significant;"  and  so  it 
truly  is. 

141.  In  line  141  Costard  asks :  "What  is  the  price 
of  this  inkle?"  referring  directly  to  the  inkle,  or 
tape,  employed  as  the  trimming  of  the  coat  of  The 
Figure.  We  can  imagine  even  to  see  him  point  his 
finger  at  the  inkle  as  he  asks  the  question ;  and  that 
is  the  implied  meaning  here  This  inkle  used  to  be 
either  of  a  single  color  or  of  several  in  stripes.  You 
will  understand  the  meaning  of  "renumeration"  in 
the  next  line. 

142.  By  understanding  that  the  inkle  of  the  coat 
of  The  Figure  forms  the  letters  (all  but  B  and  parts 


35 

of  0)  of  the  name  Bacon  we  get  the  "remuneration," 
a  world  of  light  is  opened  up  to  us,  we  understand 
the  whole  situation,  which  in  itself  is  a  very  great 
remuneration. 

Keeping  in  mind  that  B.  I.  is  Biron,  we  see 

176.  how  Biron  has  been  "a  very  beadle  to  a  humorous 
sigh,"  that  is,  a  guard  to  the  Introductory  Poem  to 
prevent  its  meaning  from  being  understood. 

177.  For  he  has  stood  as  "a  night-watch  con- 
stable" between  The  Poem  and  The  Figure  to  watch 
that  The  Figure  may  not  be  readily  understood.    He 

179.  has  been  "a  domineering  pedant  over  the  boy,"  The 
190.  Figure.     Now  read  what  he  says  of  this  "boy"  in 

lines  179  and  190. 
182.  Tn  line  182  he  is  called  "Dan  Cupid."  The  Figure, 
like  Cupid,  stands  between  Bacon  and  his  Love 
(his  Muse)  with  his  fire-brands,  the  "fire  new 
words,"*  FR.  Bacon,  to  win  him  and  her  for  each 
other.  The  same  idea  is  expressed  in  some  of  the 
Sonnets. 
192.  See  Sonnets  108  and  126,  In  line  192  he  calls  The 
Poem, — 

"A  woman,  that  is  like  a  German  clock, 
Still  a-repairing,  ever  out  of  frame. 
And  never  going  aright,  being  a  watch 
But  being  watch'd  that  it  may  still  go  right." 
How  well  the  description  fits  the  parts  The 
Poem  is  performing! 

199.  In  the  expression"  two  pitch-balls  stuck  in 
her  face  for  eyes"  he  alludes  to  the  two  points 
in  B.  I. 

200.  In  the  next  line  "Ay,  and,  by  heaven,  one  that 
will  do  the  deed"  the  meaning  intimated  is  that  one 
of  those  "pitch-balls,"  i.  e.,  one  of  the  points,  the  one 
between  B  and  I  will  when  erased  or  removed  "do 
the  deed"  of  showing  up  the  meaning  of  B  I  as  bi, 

*Act  I.  1.  179. 


36 


and  thus  the  true  meaning-  of  The  Poem  as  joined 
by  this  preposition  to  The  Figure. 
207.  Biron's  speech  closes  by  saying:  "Some  men 

must  love  my  lady  and  some  Joan."  "Jaon"  is  "Jone" 
in  the  Folio,  and  is  the  feminine  of  Jon,  and  means 
the  Poem  by  Ben  Jonson,  the  prologue  "vilely 
penn'd"  which  appears  in  the  preliminary  pages  of 
the  Folio.     (See  pp.  50  and  51.) 


ACT  IV.   SCENE   I. 

There  should  be  but  little  difficulty  in  under- 
standing the  allusions  of  this  and  the  next  scene. 
Thus  the  "deer"  means  Costard,  the  head  of  The 
Figure;  in  line  10,  sc.  2.  122  "hind,"  all  in  allusion 
to  the  horn  he  has  hid  under  the  hair  of  the  left  side 

113.  of     the     head.      Hence,     also,    the    allusions     to 

114.  "horns"  in  lines  113  and  114  and  117.     Similarly 
117.  "pricket,"  a  buck  in  his  second  year   (probably  so 

called  from  his  horns,)  in  Sc.  2.  12,  and  elsewhere. 

116.  Lines  116  to  120  are  interesting: 

116.  "Boyet.     And  who  is  your  deer? 

■'.17.  Ros.  If  we  choose  by  horns,  yourself  come  notnear," 
meaning  that  he  is  the  deer,  and  therefore  it  would 
be  unsafe  for  him.  Remembering  that  Boyet  is 
"Shakespeare,"  as  "Will"  as  shown  in  The  Figure 
"with  a  horn  added,"  (Act.  V.  1.  52)  the  reply  is 
particularly  fitting  and  is  another  proof  positive 
that  "Boyet"  means  "Will  Shake-speare,"  as  pre- 
viously exhibited,     (page  25.) 

119.  "Maria.     You  still  wrangle  with  her 

Boyet,  and  she  strikes  at  the  brow,"  i.  e., 
Boyet's  head,  the  head  of  The  Figure. 

120.  "Boyet.  But  she  herself  (The  Introductory  Poem) 
is  his  lover,"  i.  e,,  of  B.  I.  All  this  has  a  playful 
allusion  to  remove  the  head  of  The  Figure  to  disclose 

133.  the  letter  B.    In  like  manner  is  seen  what  the  author 

134.  is  striving  at  in  lines  133  and  134. 


37 

138.  "Cleaving-  the  pin"  hints  at  the  split  arm. 
The  same  is  hinted  at  in  Act  V.  2.  655,  where  it  is 
said  to  be  "cloven ;"  hence  Armado  cries  out. 
"peace,"     Keep  this  fact  secret ! 

139.  Line  139 :  "You  talk  greasily,"  i.  e.,  you  talk 
too  plainly  about  the  cloven  arm ;  the  secret  might 
"shp"  from  you.  Sse  'greasy  Joan,"  Act  V.  II.  SoO 
for  a  similar  meaning. 

141.  In  line  141  Costard  is  called  "my  good  owl," 

by  Boyet,  which  is  quite  appropriate;  for  if  there 
is  no  head  to  The  Figure  there  would  be  no  Boyet. 
In  the  closing  song  of  the  play  he  is  called  "the 
staring  owl,"  appropriately  singing:  "Tu-whit,  tu- 
who"  which  means:     Married  "to  what?" 

Married  "to  who  ?"  The  ans- 
wer is  obvious:  Bacon  is  married  to  his  nom  de 
plume,  "Will  Shakespeare." 

146.  Line   146:    "Armado  of   the  one  side,"   a^.d 

line  149:  "  his  page  o'  th'  other  side"  should  be 
noted  as  intimating  proof  of  the  fact  that  Armado 
and  Moth  represent  the  arms  (arm,  fore  and  back) 
of  The  Figure."  Mote"  (Moth)  and  "beam"  are 
mentioned  in  IV.  3.  161-2. 


SCENE  II. 


The  contents  of  this  scene  are  particularly  in- 
forming. As  it  is  supposed  that  the  reader,  by  this 
time,  will  quite  well  see  the  numerous  allucions,  in 
nearly  every  line,  without  being  pointed  out  to  him, 
only  the  more  important  parts  will  be  considered. 

Thus,  "deer"  is  mentioned  in  several  places 
of  the  scene,  and  "pricket,"  a  buck  in  the  second 
year,  having  horns.  From  the  horn  in  the  hair  of 
The  Figure  the  idea  is  carried  to  that  of  the  "deer," 
which  the  princess  goes  out  to  shoot. 

Then  there  is  a  quibble  on  "haud  credo"  (I 
believe  not,)  which  Dull  in  his  ignorance  takes  to 


3K ■ 

12.     mean   "head  credo."  This  is  repeated  by  Dull  iru 

19.  line  19,  whereupon  Holoiernes  answers:  "Twice  sod 
(said)  simplicity,  his  Coctus""  (head  of  The*  Figure.) 
The  inference  by  allusion  is:  Do  not  believe  the* 
head,  or  litarally :  "I  do  not  believe  the  head,'*  i.  e.,, 
of  The  Fig-ure ;  it  is  deceiving. 

58.  In  lines  58  to  63  there  is  a  playful  stanza 

on  the  divided  letter  N  of  The  Figure.  See  ante,  p.. 
23.  Here  is  the  fullest  corroboration  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  beam  of  light  as  the  middle  bar  of  the 
letter  N.  The  fact  that  N  is  cut  in  two  in  The 
Figure  is  refeiTed  to  as  a  "sore."  Playfully  he 
says:  One  "sore"  with  an  L  (the  pai't  of  N  shown, 
on  the  left  arm  of  The  Figure  is  like  an  L;  (see  pL 
IV  and  VI)    makes    fifty    sores    (L-50,)    and    "an 

63.     hundred"  sores  "by  adding  but  one  more  L"-100.)* 
Holofernes  who  represents  the  entire  Figuve' 

67.  minus  the  head  says  of  himself  that  he  is  full  of 
"forms,"  and  "figures,"  alluding,  of  course,  to  the 
letters  of  Bacon's  name  found  on  him.  This  ex- 
plains the  question  in  Act  V.  1.  49:  "Are  you  not 
lettered?" 

The  second  part  of  the  scene  opens  with  the 
entrance  of  Jaquenetta  and  Costard.     She  salutes 

82.  Holofemes  as  "Master  Parson,,  in  the  Folio  it  is 
Master  Person,  and  in  line  91  Master  Parson,  which 
is  a  true  epithet,  but  which  he  turns  into  "quasi-per- 
son."  By  allusion  this  means  that  he  has  only  the 
appearance  of  a  person,  being  fictitious,  not  real. 

85.  Then  he  asks:  "An  if  one  should  be  pierced,  which 
is  the  one?" 

86.  Costard    replies:    "Marry,    Master     school- 

87.  master,  he  that  is  likest  to  a  hogshead."  The  head 
of  The  Figure  is  called  "hogshead,"  because  the 
body  is  Bacon,  and  "bacon"    is  hog.f      And    it  is 

*The  fact  that  "sorrel"  is  a  deer  three  years  old  and  "sore"  one  of  four 
years,  should  not  confuse  us.  The  second  L  is  the  F  in  The  Figure. 
tSee  Sonnet  L, 


B^ 

particularly  appropriate  that  Costard,  who  is  the 
head  of  The  Figure,  should  answer  the  question.  "It 
should  be  pierced,"  looked  through,  to  see  B  which 
it  hides.  This  intimation  is  referred  to  as  treason 
in  scene  3.  189.    It  should  be  noted  that  it  is  always 

S2.  Costard  that  brings  the  letter;  line  92.  Sc.  3.  190 
and  198. 

109.  Note  well  the  Sonnet  which  Nathani^^l  rer.ds 

as  giving  i>articularly  interesting  information. 
Here  as  elsewhere  in  his  Sonnets  Bacon  spea'.s  of 
his  Muse  as  his  "Love,"  his  "Beauty."  In  aport  'O- 
phizing  her  the  effect  is  particuarly  pleasing.     In 

111.  hne  three  of  this  Sonnet  he  says:  "To  thee  (i.  e.,  liis 
Love,  his  Immortal  Flays,  his  Muse)  I  will  faithful 
prove,"  i.  e.,  he  will  take  care  that  he  will  be  known 
as  her  author,  that  he  will  ahvays  belong  to  her: 

112.  "Those  thoughts  to  me  were  oaks,  to  thee  like  osiers 
bow'd." 

113.  "Study  his  bias  leaves,  and  makes  his  hook 
thine  eyes."  "Bias,"  early  English  biass,  or  byas 
(as  in  Folio,)  means:  An  oblique  or  diagoral  line, 
a  seam  obhque  to  the  texture,  and  refers  here  to 
the  oblique  lines  or  seams  of  the  Coat  of  The  Figure. 
Hence,  by  extension,  "bias"  means  The  Figure  itself. 
He  exhorts  us  to  study  it;  if  we  will  do  so  it  will 
leave  and  make  "his  book,"  i.  e.,  the  book  of  his 
Plays,  the  Folio  of  1623,  our  eyes  as  well  as  of  his 
Muse;  his  book  will  then  truly  be  our  eyes  to  uiider- 
stand  both  his  authorship  and  so  the  book  itself. 
Without  understanding  his  Figure  we  never  can 
understand  his  Book — ^The  two  are  woven  together. 

115.  "If  knowledge  be  the  mark,  to  know  thee  shall  suffice; 

116.  Well  learned  is  that  tongue  that  well  can  thee  command. 

117.  AH  ignorant  that  soul  that  sees  thee  without  wonder." 
How  truly  this  is  said  of  his  Muse! 

119.  "Thy  eye  Jove's  lightning  bears,  thy  voice 

his  dreadful  thunder ;"  that  is,  the  free  and  powerful 
expression  of  his  Muse  under  cover  of  his  nom  de 


40 


plume  is  "his  dreadful  thunder,"  and  her  "eye"  the" 
wit  and  hints  to  disclose  his  authorship  "which  not 
120.  to  anger  bent,  is  music  and  sweet  fire." 
12L  "Celestial  as  thou  art;"  his  Muse  is  celestiaL 

123.  "You  find  not  the  apostrophes ;"  the  apostro- 

phes to  his  Muse  are  now  clearly  seen  in  nine  of  the 
fourteen    lines    of  this  beautiful    and  remarkable 
Sonnet. 
12G.  "Ovidius  Naso  was  the  man :  and  why  indeed, 

N'aso,  but  for  smelling*  out  the  odoriferous  flowers 
of  fancy,  the  Jerks  of  invention?"  Publius  Ovidius 
Naso  was  a  Roman  poet  of  the  Augustine  Age.  One 
of  his  best  known  poems  is  "Ars  Amatoria"  ("Art 
of  Love".)  "Flowers  of  fancy,  jerks  of  invention," 
refer  to  Bacon's  name  in  the  form  of  a  fanciful 
figure. 
12y.  Note  the  allusion  of  the  expression  "tired 

horse  his  rider"  in  line  129,  and  the  hint  in  the 
words :  "was  this  directed  to  you  ?"  in  the  next  line. 
Another  interesting  bit  of  conversation  is  the 
talk  of  Holof ernes  beginning:  "I  do  dine  today,  etc." 
The  meaning  of  the  expression:  "to  gratify  the 
table  with  a  grace"  is  that  Ben  Jonson  (who  is 
Nathaniel)  was  to  write  a  poetical  preface  to  his 
Book  of  Plays.  This  "grace"  or  preface  is  found 
in  the  Folio  of  1623.  This  same  poem  is  called 
"Joan"  (in  the  Folio  it  is  "Jone")  in  Act  III.  1.  207. 


SCENE  III. 


The  opening  speech  of  Biron  contains  many 
allusions,  which  the  reader  will  have  no  trouble  in 
understanding,  as  similar  ones  have  already  been 
seen. 
14.  Speaking  of  Sonnets  Biron  says  that:  "she 

(i.    e.,  Bacon's    Muse)    hath  one    o'    my    sonnets 
already."     In    this  proof  is  seen    that    Bacon  had 


41 

before  this  concieved  the  idea  of  writing  a  series  of 
Sonnets  to  his  Muse  as  part  of  the  genera^  scheme 
of  secret  authorship,  his  Sonnets  otherwi re  being- 
impossible.  It  is  seen  that  by  the  time  this  play  is 
written  he  must  have  already  composed  the  greater 
number  of  his  Sonnets.    He  gives  three  of  them  in 

26.     this  play:  one  by  the  King,  lines  26  and  42,  also  re- 

42.  markable  for  its  sixteen  instead  of  fourteen  lines. 
The  one  referred  to  by  Biron,  "she  hath  ore  of  my 
Sonnets   already,"   is   the   one  read   by   Nathaniel, 

60.     Sc.  II.  109-122.      The  third  is  by    Longaville  in  this 

73.     scene,  lines  60-73. 

"Thou  hast  thumped  him  with  thy  bird-bolt 

21.  under  the  left  pap"  is  a  hint  to  call  attention  to  the 
shaded  middle  bar  of  the  letter  R  and  with  it,  by 
suggestion,  that  of  F  as  seen  in  The  Figure.  "Bird- 
bolt"  was  a  blunt-pointed  arrow,  formerly  used  for 
shooting  birds.  It  was  intended  to  stun  without 
piercing. 

26.  The  Sonnet  the  King  reads  is  wonderfully 

sweet,  and  full  of  meaning  to  the  initiated.  Bacon, 
as  King  of  Muse,  apostrophizes  the  Princess,  his 
Muse,     It  is  for  his    "lost"    Muse  that    he    sheds 

29,     tears,  the  "dew  that  on  my  cheeks  down  flows." 

32.  Her  "face  through  tears  (i.  e.,  Sonnets)  of  mine 
give  light." 

33.  "Thou  shinest  in  every  tear  that  I  do  weep: 

34.  No  drop  but  is  a  coach  doth  carry  thee ; 

35.  So  ridest  thou  triumphing  in  my  woe." 

54.  In  line  54  Longaville  is  likened  to  "Tyburn 

that  hangs  up  simplicity."  Tyburn  in  old  London 
was  a  tributary  of  the  Thames.  There  "Tyburn 
Tree"  was  the  public  gallows  tree  until  1783.  Longa- 
ville (as  Shake-speare,  the  nom  de  plume)  "hangs 
up,"  i.  e.,  conceals  Bacon's  authorship. 
57.  In  line    57  his    Sonnets    are  called    "these 

59.     numbers,"  and  in  lines  59  "his  (i.  e.,  Cupid's)  slop." 
64.  "A    woman    I    foreswore,"  i.  e.,  his    Muse; 


42 


65.     but  as  the  Goddess  Muse  he  did  not  forswear  her. 
83.  In  hues    83  .  ff.   Bacon    calls  his    Muse :   "O 

85.  most  divine  Kate,"  "the  wonder  in  a  mortal  eye," 

86.  "she  is  no  corporal." 

89.  "Her  shoulder  is  with  child"  (1.  89)  alludes 
to  CON  (CON-cept)  of  Bacon's  name  found  on  the 

90.  shoulder  and  arm  of  The  Figure.  It  is  "fair  as 
day,"  i.  e.,  it  gives  day-light  on  Bacon's  authorship, 
when  this  part  of  The  Figure  is  seen. 

Longavill  is  taken  to  task  (1.  133  ff.)  for  not 
loving  Maria: 

133.  "You  do  not  love  Maria;  Longaville 

134.  Did  never  Sonnet  for  her  sake  compile, 
136.  His  loving  bosom  to  keep  down  his  heart." 

This  is  natural,  for  Longaville  is  exposed  by  Maria. 

161.  "Mote"  and  "beam"  is  an  allusion  to  the  mote 

and  beam  of  The  Figure, 

"All  about  the  breast"  alludes  to  the  letters 
on  The  Figure;  hence,  the  exclamation:  "A  caudle, 
ho!" 

230.  In  line  230  the  King  compares  the  Princess 

to  a   "gracious   moon, 

"She  (Rosaline)  an  attending  star";  the  com- 
parison holds  good.    The  Goddess  Muse  is  the  sun. 

233.  "0,  but  for  my  love,  day  would  turn  into 

night!"  which  is  true;  but  for  the  Introductory 
Poem  we  would  be  more  or  less  at  a  loss  to  under- 
stand The  Figure. 

In  line  247  the  King  says  to  Biron:  "Thy 
love  (i.  e.,  Rosaline)  is  black  as  ebony,"  in  allusion 
to  the  dark  and  mysterious  meaning  of  the  Poem 
regarding  The  Figure  which  the  Poem  (Rosaline) 
describes.  The  entire  conversation  alludes,  in  a 
general  way,  to  his  Muse  as  "dark,"  because  written 
under  cover  of  another  name. 

278.  Longavill:  "Look,  here  is  thy  love: 

my  foot  and  her  face  see." 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


Ltgd.  BATAVORVM 

Apud  iTrancifcum  Moiaxditm, 

£X  Adrianum  "Wijngaerde.  Mna  jf^^» 


Photo-Facsimile   of   title-page   of    Bacon's    I)e    Augmentis,    1645. 
Look,  here  is  thy  love;  my  foot  and  her  face  see.     L.  L.  L.  IV.  8.  278 

See  page   43. 


Plate  VIII. 


43 

To  understand  this  passage  I  must  refer  you 
to  the  title-pag-e  of  Bacon's  De  Augmentis  (pi.  VIII). 
Ihis  book,  hke  other  books  by  Bacon,  has  crypto- 
graphic picture  on  its  title-page.  Under  the  left 
arm  of  Bacon,  who  is  in  a  sitting  posture,  is  seen, 
up-side  down,  with  a  corronet,  the  head  of  a  lady 
outlined  against  his  arm,  with  the  face  looking  up 
toward  that  of  Bacon,  This  represents  his  "Love," 
Bacon's  Muse,  His  Plays,  mutilated  and  bloody, 
separated  from  the  body,  the  dress  of  which  hangs 
down  in  front  over  Bacon's  garment  and  made  to 
appear  as  part  of  it.  This  is  the  reason  the  tragedian, 
or  actor,  being  held  up  by  Bacon's  hand,  loolis  so 
downcast,  sorrowful,  and  woebegone,  as  he  beholds 
the  frightful  spectacle  of  her  mulitated  body  be- 
neath him.  From  the  thumb  of  Bacon's  left  hand 
is  seen  the  hilt  of  a  small  sword  hanging.  On 
this  hilt  is  seen  the  two  letters  F  B  in  script  mono- 
gram. This  is  symbolical  of  Bacon's  pen,  which  has 
slain  his  Muse.  Here,  then,  we  get  the  understand- 
ing of  this  passage.  Longaville,  the  tragedian, 
dressed  in  goat-skin,  looking  down,  says:  "Look, 
here  is  thy  love: 

My  foot  and  her  face  see." 
Bacon  is  seen  pointing  to  Act  IV.  L.  L.  L.  in  the 
Folio,  the  very  Act  in  which  this  passage  occurs. 
Longavill's  foot  shows  as  gory  streaks  of  blood  on 
her  neck,  the  head  being  severed  from  it. 

Likewise  is  seen  a  dark    bust  in  outline  in 

front  of  the  actor's  body  with  the  head  against  it. 

This  is  symbolical  of  the  "dark"  aspects  of  the  lady 

247.  of  Biron:  "thy  love  is  black  as  ebony,"  and  of  the 

Mistresses  of  the  King,  of  Longaville,  and  of  Du- 

270.  main:  "Your  mistresses  dare  never  come  in  rain  for 

271.  fear  their  colours  should  be  wash'd  away." 

In  lines  335  and  336  he  says  that, — 
"A  lover's  ear  will  hear  the  lowest  sound 


41 


When  the  suspicious  head  of  theft  is  stopp'd," 
meaning  that  when  the  head  of  The  Figure  is  re- 
moved Bacon's  name  is  revealed,  and  the  smallest 
allusions  are  then  readily  seen. 


ACT  V.  SCENE  I. 


Though  this  act  is  long  it  should  not  now  pre- 
sent any  difficulties  in  the  way  of  understanding  the 
allusions  with  which  it  abounds.  The  most  im- 
portant ones  will  be  pointed  out. 

The  first  is  found  in  line  31  where  Holof ernes, 
after  he  and  Nathaniel  have  been  conversing  about 
Armado  and  alluding  to  The  Figure,  says: 

31.     "Borne  boon,  for  boon  prescian,  a  little  scratched,  'twill  serve." 

I  have  given  the  same  spelling  as  that  of  the 
Folio.  There  seems  to  be  little  or  no  meaning  con- 
veyed in  this  sentence,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
is  one  of  p^i'ime  importance. 

"Bome  boon,  for  boon  prescian"  is:  nom  de 
plume,  for  good  Priscian,  that  is,  for  the  good 
teacher  Holofernes,  or  in  other  words,  for  Bacon. 
It  confirms  what  we  already  know,  namely,  that 
"Shake-speare,"  or  "Mr.  William  Shakespeare,"  is 
only  Bacon's  nom  de  plume,  or  pen-name.  (Priscian 
Caesariensis  was  a  celebrated  Latin  Grammarian 
teacher,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  500.)  They  re- 
fer in  their  conversation  to  this  nom  de  plume  as 
"a  most  singular  and  choice  epithet."  Remembering 
that  Holofernes,  The  Fgure  minus  the  head,  spells 
BACON,  it  follows  that  the  nom  de  plume  is  for 
Bacon  the  good  teacher. 

Some  modern  critics  have  made  this  sentence 
read  bon  bon,  fort  bon  Priscian,  showing  them  up 
truly  as  the  Constable  Dull,  "while  truth  the  while 
doth  falsely  blind  the  eyesight  of  his  look."  In 
others  it  is  worked  into  the  following  monstrosity: 


45 

"Bone? — bone  for  bene:  Priscian  a  little  scratch'd, 
'twill  sei-ve."  See  Gallancz's  edition  of  Shakespeare 
and  that  by  Knight.* 

The  next  of  importance  as  to  allusions  is  the 
conversation  of  Moth  and  Costard,  lines  40  to  44 : 

40.  "Moth.  They  have  been  hi  a  great  feast  of 

lungimges  and  stolen  the  scraps. 

42.  Ct)stard.  0,  they  have    lived    on  the    alms-^ 

basket  of  words.    I  wonder  they  master  (i.  e.,  Ai"  n^ 

44.     ado,  the  ann")  hath  not  eaten  thee  for  a  word."  This 
is  a  hint  at  the  forming  of  the  word  or  syllable  CON. 

49  In  line  49  Armado  asks   Holof ernes:     "Are 

you  not  lettered  ?"  Holof  ernes  is  "lettered"  all  over. 

50.  "Moth.  What  is  a  c  spelled  backward,  with 

50.     the  horn  on  his  head," 

Holof  ernes:  B  A,  puericia  with  a  horn  added." 
Note  that  there  is  no  comma  after  puericia  in  the 
Folio  of  1623,  nor  in  the  quarto  of  1498,  nor  can 
there  be  if  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  is  to  be 
carried  out  as  intended.  Holofernes  is  the  pedant 
in  Rabelais's  "Gargantua  and  Pantagruel,"  who 
taught  Gargantua  to  say  the  alphabet  backward 
in  5  years  3  months.  Holofernes  is  also  written 
Holophernes,  but  Bacon  chose  the  former  as  best 
suited  to  his  purpose.  "Puericia"  is  pueritia,  youth. 
As  before  noted,  the  face  of  The  Figure  is  that  of  a 
youth ;  witness  the  small  growth  of  hair  on  the  lips. 

*It  is  interesting  to  know  what  Bacon  himself  says  of  these  supposed 
errors  in  Sonnet  96.    Apostrophizing  his  Muse,  the  Plays,  he  says: 
'Some  say  thy  fault  is  youth,  some  wantoness; 
Some  say  thy  grace  is  youth  and  gentle  sport; 
Both  grace  and  faults  are  loved  of  more  or  less; 
Thou  makest  faults  graces  that  to  thee  resort. 
As  on  the  finger  of  a  throned   queen 
The   basest   jewel   will    be    well    esteem'd, 
So  are  those  errors  that  in  thee  are  seen 
To   thruths  translated   and   for  true   things   deem'd.' 
See  also  Sonnets  35  and  36. 


j^ 

The  "horn"  is  the  one  hid  under  the  long  hair,  and. 
the  tip  of  it  is  made  to  have  the  grotesque  appear- 
ance of  an  eai\ 

By  inserting  a  comma  after  the  word 
"puericia"  the  intended  meaning  is  entirely  de- 
stroyed, and  serves  to  show  how  important  it  is  ta 
leave  everything  as  we  find  it  in  the  Folio.  When 
a  comma  is  used  after  the  word  it  is  Moth  that  is 
called  "youth,"  wheras  the  express  allusion  is  tO' 
the  youthful  look  of  the  face  of  The  Figure. 

I  he  word  "puericia"  is,  of  course,  pun^osely 
spelled  with  a  "c"  to  mislead  the  unwary.  "Errors" 
of  this  kind  were  thought  to  be  due  to  defective 
education  of  the  author.     See  Sonnet  96. 

B  A  are  "spelt  backward,"  i.  e.,  lying  in  that 
position  on  The  Figure. 

The  horn  is  in  immitation  of  a  knight's  horn, 

which  he  used  to  blow  in  setting  forth  on  his  horse 

to  combat  for  his  lady.     Bacon  is  pictured  on  the 

title-page  of  his  cryptographic  book  as  blowing  a 

horn  as  he  is  sallying  forth  on  his  charger  to  battle 

for  his  Love.* 

55.  In  lines  55  to  60  he  calls  our  attention  to  the 

60.     consonant  C  and  the  rest  of  his  name:  "Quis,  quis, 

thou  consonant."    Playfully  he  called  the  five  letters 

of  his  name  "the  five  vowels."    This  comes  in  handy 

for  the  concluding  parts  which  he  calls  "ou ;"  the  u 

is,  of  course,  the  n  inverted. 

.  65.  In  line  65  the    intimation    is  quite    direct: 

"What  is  The  Figure?    What  is  The  Figure?"  Here 

he  asks  outright  what  The  Figure  is.  Nothing  could 

be  plainer.     From  here  onward  to  the  end  of  the 

scene  interesting  conversation  is  taking  place  which 

the  reader  will  be  able  to  understand  in  its  true 

112.  light.    Thus,  Armado  in  line  112  speaks  of  "my  poor 

*See  Bacon  is  Shakespeare. 


shoulder"  which  the  King;   (Bacon)  will  be  pleased 
to  lean  upon   (to  spell  out  his  name  in  full). 


SCENE  II. 

Tliere  is  nothiro-  difficult  in  scene  II.  and  all 
is  exceedingly  interesting.     In  hne  38  it  is  blrn'ly 

^8.  said  that  ''he  hath  drawn  my  picture  in  his  letter." 
meaning  that  the  head  of  The  Figure  is  drawn  in 
the  letter  B.  Further  in  line  42  the  letter  E  is 
named  outright  where  it  says,  that  it  is — 

^2.  "Fair  as  a  text  B  in  a  copy-book."     In  line 

44  B  is  called— 

44.  *'My  red  dominical,  my  goMon  K-^tter."  The 
letter  0  is  called  attention  to  by  the  hint  in  line  45 — 

45.  "0  that  your  face  were  not  so  full  of  O's!" 
In  hne  50  where  it  says — 

50.  "Some  thousand  verses  of  a  faithful  lover" 

the  reference  is  to  the  Sonnets  which  are  all  to  his 
Muse,  the  Plays  proper,  the  verses  are  sent  to  her 
by  the  faithful  lover  Bacon.    But  they  are — 

52.  "Vilely  compiled,  profound  simplicity."  The 
intimation  is  somewhat  similar  in  line  53  where  the 

53.  Sonnets  are  called  "pearls." 

From  here  on  to  line  242  there  are  many 
interesting  allusions,  which  we  will  let  the  reader 
242.  find  out  for  himself.  In  lines  242  to  254  the  con- 
254.  versation  of  Longaville  with  Katharine  is  highly 
amusing  and  suggestive.,  It  illustrates  the  relation 
of  Bacon  and  of  his  nom  de  plume.  Will  Shakespeare, 
here  Longavill,  to  his  Muse. 

Note  that  Katherine  says  that  "Longavill  was 
for  my  service  born;"  Katrarine  (i.  e.,  the 
Plays)  have  long  been  known  by  the  name  of  "Will 
Shakespeare"  and  has  thus  had  his  service. 

Note  in  line  315  to  334  what  Biron  says  of 
Boyet,  i.  e.,  Shake-speare. 

Note  that  the  King,  Biron,  Dumain  and  Long- 


ig 

433.  aville  confess  that  they  were  disguised  (1.  433.) 
445.  Rosaline  is  called  "precious  eyesight"  (1.  445.)  The- 
Introductory  Poem  should  be  a. "precious,  eyesight" 
to  all  of  us.  But  someliow  it  had  gi'own  dim  until, 
the  present  day,  when  it  had  become  absolutely 
dark.  That  it  was  a  "precious  eyesight"  to  see' 
Bacon's  authorship  of  the  Plays  up  to  1664  when  the 
Third  Folio  was  edited,  and  even  as  late  as  1709' 
when  the  Fifth  was  published,  there  is  every 
evidence.* 

There  are  many  interesting  things  in  Biron's 
459.  speech,    lines    459    to    481,    numerous     allusions. 
481.  which  the  reader  will  readily  understand. 
550.  The  speech  of  Costard  as  Pompey  should  be 

562.  carefully  noted  (550-562.)  So  also  Sir  Nathaniel's 
as  Alexander.  By  a  pun  on  the  word  Alexander  is 
chajiged  to  Alisander,  and  this  by  slowly  pronounc- 
ing it  gives  the  play  on  the  word  and  the  meaning : 
A-lies-u.nder,  that  is,  A  lies  under  B  in  The  Fig:ure 
as  already  shown  in  chapter  II.  page  17.  That  this 
is  the  meaning  implied  is  readily  seen  from  Costard's 

576.  speech   (576  to  590)  :  "You  will  be  scraped  out  of 

577.  the  painted    cloth  for  this,"  referring    to  A;  and 
588.  "Alisandei', — alas,  you  see  how  'tis,  a  little  o'erpart- 

ed."    A  is,  as  we  have  seen,  parted  in  The  Figure. 

The  next  interesting  presentation  is  that  by 
Holofemes  who  plays  the  role  of  Judas,  as  traitor. 
As  previously  seen  Holofernes,  the  schoolmaster,  is 
The  Figure  minus  the  head,  hence  the  body  of 
Figure  which  spells  FR.  Bacon,  and  therefore. 
Bacon  is  the  schoolmaster.  It  is  because  of  these 
letters,  that  Holofernes  calls  himself  Judas,  the 
traitor,  since  they  disclose  Bacon's  name  and  with 
it  his  authorship.  This  is  also  clearly  seen  in  the 
ensuing  conversation,  line  604ff :  Holofernes  assert- 
604.  ing  that  he  is  Judas  Biron  asks,  1.  604:  "How  art 

*See  The  Shakespeare  Myth,  page  24. 


^ 49 

612.  thou  proved  Judas  ?"  and,  1.  612 :  "Because  thou  hast 
no  face."     Pointing  to  the  head  Holof ernes  asks: 

613.  "What  is  this?"    Whereupon  tliey  ceverally  call  the 
head  of  The  Figure, — 

614.  "A  cittern-head. 

615.  "The  head  of  a  bodkin. 

616.  "A  Death's  face  in  a  ring. 

617.  "The  face  of  an  old  Roman  coin,  scarce  seen. 

618.  "The  pommel  of  Caesar's  falchion. 

619.  "The  carved-bone  face  on  a   flask. 

620.  "Saint  George's  half-cheek  in  a  brooch. 

621.  "Ay,  and  in  a  brooch  of  lead. 

622.  "Ay,  and  worn  in  the  cap  of  a  tooth-drawer. 

623.  And  now  forward,  for  we  have  put  thee  in  counte- 
nance." 

"Ring"  and  "Brooch"  mean  the  letter  B,  the 
collar  of  The  Figure. 

"Brooch  of  lead"  has  a  play  on  the  word 
"lead;"  here  "lead"  is  the  verb  lead,  because  B,  the 
"brooch,"  is  the  letter  leading  to  all  the  rest  in  The 
Figure. 

The  letter  A  being  like  a  pair  of  forceps,  is 
called  a  "tooth-drawer"  (1.  622)  for  pulling  or  draw- 
ing teeth.  The  letter  B  (the  "brooch")  is  "worn  in 
the  cap,"  i,  e.,  (by  pun)  gap  of  the  tooth-drav/er, 
being  just  in  the  top,  or  mouth,  or  gap,  of  A,  the 
forceps.  This  is  an  amusing  as  well  as  an  apt  com- 
parison. It  is  put  "in  countenance,"  all  made  very 
plain.  The  concluding  parts  of  their  conversation  is 
interesting  in  its  allusions. 

The  conversation  of  Armado  as  Hector  con- 
643.  tains  numerous  hints.  Thus :  "His  leg  is  too  big  for 
Hector's,"  alluding  to  the  thick  arm  of  The  Figure. 
655.  In  line  655  is  a  hint  at  the  arm  as  being  "cloven," 
i.  e.,  divided  into  halves.  "That  flower — that  mint 
("mint  of  phrases,"  the  CON,  I.  1.  166)  that  Colum- 
bine" all  refer  to  the  winding  of  the  letters  CON 
over  the  Arm  and  Shoulder.     "Mint"  is  chosen  for 


50 


its  double  meaning  by  way  of  pun,  both  as  a  plant 
and  as  a  coin,  CO(i)N. 
682.  "The  child  brags  in  her  belly," —  the  name 

FR.  BACON  grown  so  as  to  be  seen  by  the  last  part 
CON  on  Armado  ("by"  Armado)  ;  hence,  Pompey 
(Costard,  the  head  of  The  Figure  becomes  of  no 
import)  "  is  dead." 

728.  The     next    is   the    entrance    of     Mercade. 

729.  It  is  fitting  that   he    is    the   one   to  announce   the 

730.  death  of  the  King  of  France,  the  father  of  the 
Princess.  Bacon,  the  father,  died  for  her  sake,  a 
literary  death,  that  she  might  live.  This  gave  him 
a  free  hand,  and  was  a  fruitful  source  of  imagery. 
As  he  himself  says  in  Sonnet  78,  of  his  nom  de  plume 
"thou  art  all  my  art."  To  obtain  these  ends,  to  pro- 
duce these  powerful  plays,  it  was  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  this  art  of  hiding  his  identity  behind  a 
"painted  cloth." 

798.  Very  fine  and  tender  is  the  Princess'  reply 

822.  to  her  suitor.       Note  further  how  each  woos  his 

proper  lady,  that  each  is  put  on  trial  and  made  to 

wait  a  "twelve  month,"  and  that  they  are  to  "visit 

the  speechless  sick,"  his  Plays. 

Note  Maria's  reply  to  Longavill,  that  she  will 
change  her  "black  gown  for  a  faithful  friend." 
"Black  gown,"  grief  expressed  in  the  Sonnets 
(Maria.)  Note  Maria's  answer:  "The  liker  for  you." 
She  does  not  promise  to  marry  him,  but  a  "faithful 
friend."  "The  speechless  sick"  is  his  "sick"  Muse 
because  apparently  deserted  by  the  author. 

The  play  ends  with  a  song.  Here  the  expres- 
sion "married  men"  alludes  to  Bacon  as  married  to 
"Mr.  William  Shakespeare,"  his  nom  de  plume.  The 
owl  sings:  "Tu-whit,  tu-who,"  i.  e.,  married  "to 
what,  to  who?" 

The  expression:  "While  greasy  Joan  (in  the 
Folio  'Jone')  doth  keel  the  pot"  has  a  definite  im- 


51 

plied  meaning,  "Joan"  is  the  feminine  of  Jon,  and 
means  the  Poem  by  Ben  Jonson  as  a  preface  in  the 
Folio  of  1623,  a  "prologue  vilely  penn'd.  In  the  Foho 
it  is  vildely  pen'd  (Act  V.  2.  305).  See  page  40. 
This  Poem  is  part  of  Bacon's  scheme  to  conceal  his 
name  from  the  unitiated,  hence  "greasy."  It  is 
also  mentioned  in  the  last  line  of  Act  III:  "Some 
men  must  love  my  lady  (i.  e.,  Bacon's  Muse)  and 
some  Joan.".  It  is  called  "greasy  Jaon,"  because 
it  is  deceiving,  slippery  in  its  moaning:  the  whole 
Poem  is,  of  course,  written  as  a  jest.  "Greasily" 
has  a  similar  meaning  in  Act  IV.  2.  139. 
nearly  three  hundred  years. 

"Spring"  and  "Winter"  are  emblems  of 
Bacon's  assumed  relation  to  his  Muse  by  means  of 
his  nom  de  plume.  "Winter"  is  the  period  of  descent 
when  he  is  absent  from  his  Muse  as  her  unknown 
author  (Sonnet  97)  ;  it  is  "maintained  by  the  owl," 
"my  good  owl"  Costard,  (IV.  1.  141)  the  head  of 
The  Figure.  When  the  head  is  removed  it  is 
"Spring"  because  we  then  see  everything  clearly. 
The  "Spring"  is  maintained  by  the  cuckoo,  the 
harbinger  of  Bacon's  summer  when  his  authorship 
lights  up,  his  "winter"  is  gone,  and  "The  Tempest" 
is  over. 

"The  words  of  Mercury,"  as  the  God  of  dark- 
ness the  tutilary  deity  of  thieves  and  tricksters, 
here  represented  by  the  owl  Costard,  the  head  that 
conceals  the  meaning  of  The  Figure,  "are  harsh  aft- 
er the  songs  of  Apollo"  the  leader  of  the  Muses,  god 
of  music  and  poetry.  He  is  here  represented  by  the 
cuckoo,  which  lays  its  eggs  in  another  bird's  nest, 
whose  songs  are  an  omen  of  evil  that  the  married 
men  will  be  parted :    "You  that  way,  we  this  way." 


CHAPTER  IV 

KEY  AND  NOTES  TO  THE  SONNETS 

The 
KEY 

to  the 
SONNETS 

is, 

That  Francis  Bacon  wrote  his  Poetiy  the  Plays  under 
cover  of  the  assumed  name  "Mr,  WilHam  Shakespeare,"  his 
nom  de  phime: 

And  that 

In  his  Sonnets  his  Plays  are  personified  and 
apostrophized  as  his  Love,  his  Muse,  that  is  "lost"  to  him 
because  of  this  assumed  name. 

The  wildest  conjectures  have  been  made  regarding" 
the  meaning  of  the  Sonnets.  (See  for  ex,  Gallancz's  intro- 
duction to  the  Sonnets.)  They  never  have  been  understood, 
and  indeed  they  never  can  be  without  knowing  the  great 
central  fact  of  Bacon's  authorship  and  the  relation  he  as- 
sumed toward  his  own  Muse. 

TO  .  THE  .  ONLIE  .  BEGETTER  .  OF 

THESE  .  INSUING  .  SONNETS 

MR,  W.  H.  ALL  ,  HAPPINESSE 

AND  ,  THAT  ,  ETERNITE 

PROMISED  ,  BY 

OUR  .  EVER-LIVING  .  POET 

WISHETH 

THE  ,  WELL-WISHING 

ADVENTURER .  IN 

SETTING 

FORTH. 

T.T. 


J I.  J  Hill    I      |_    J 

franc  V:3a£ont 

J>%  Vertjxamio 

fISTORIA  REGNI 

HEISTRICI  SEPTIMi      /I 

^PUS  VER£  POXITlCUAlI? 


4 

/ 


l-x^x 


Title-page  of  Bacon's  History  of  King  Henry  VH,  1642.  Emblematic. 
His  Muse  supported  on  the  stage  at  the  Globe  theatre;  salt  box  and  bit- 
less  bridle,  wisdom  and  fame,  over  Bacon's  head;  the  wheel,  the  burden 
of  his  Plays,  with  hand  mirror,  rod  for  fools'  back,  basin  for  guilty 
blood,  fool's  rattle,  spade  for  graves,  knight's  hat,  crowns  for 
jjrinces,  queens,  and  kings;  Bacon's  magic  wand,  his  pen,  in  touch  with 
the  Globe  through  the  actor;  the  sea,  The  Tempest;  the  curtain  is 
seen  above  the  stage. 


Plate  VIII.  a. 


53 

These  lines  at  the  head  of  the  Sonnets  appearing  as 
dedicatory  verses  have,  hke  the  Introductory  Poem  on  the 
fly-leaf  opposite  The  Figure  in  the  Folio,  caused  endless 
speculation  as  to  their  meaning.  Like  the  Introductory 
Poem  in  the  Folio,  they  have  an  apparent  signature 
T.  T.  It  is  said  that  one  Thomas  Thorpe  published  the 
quarto  in  which  the  Sonnets  first  appeared,  and  it  is  sup- 
posed that  the  apparent  initials  are  his  signature.  From 
what  you  have  seen  in  regard  to  B.  I.  of  the  Poem  in  the 
Folio,  you  are  quite  ready  to  suppose  that  T,  T.  also  have 
quite  another  meaning,  that  they  stand  for  no  name  what- 
ever. 

From  the  study  of  the  Folio  of  the  Plays  we  have 
seen  that  puns,  jests  and  little  tricks  are  resorted  to  and 
common.  So  here.  The  words  are  transposed  and  separat- 
ed by  means  of  points,  or  dots,  to  confuse  and  mislead  the 
unsuspecting  and  the  unitiated.  (See  Gallancz's  edition) . 
The  two  T's  evidently  spell  "tu  tes,"  or  tutes,  in  the 
modern  way  toot,  the  verb;  toot  was  in  early  Modern 
English  spelled  tout,  tote,  and  tute :  to  blow  a  horn,  or  other 
wind  instrument. 

Rearranging  the  words  and  filling  in  the  initials  we 
get  the  meaning  intended  by  the  author,  thus : 

"In  setting  forth  Mr.  Will's  horn  tutes:  To  the  only 
begetter  of  these  insuing  Sonnets  the  well-wishing  advent- 
urer wisheth  all  happiness  and  that  eternity  promised  by 
our  ever-living  poet." 

In  his  Cryptographic  book  (see  Bacon  is  Shakespeare) 
Bacon  is  pictured  as  sitting  on  a  horse  blowing  the  horn  as 
he  is  setting  forth  to  win  his  "Love."  The  horn  is  in  al- 
lusion to  that  seen  hid  in  The  Figure,  which  is  the  Mar- 
Will.    The  meaning  of  the  Dedicatory  Lines  is  clear. 

The  Sonnets  are  crystally  clear  and  pure  in  thought 
throughout. 

They  are  the  finest  examples  of  purely  abstract  thought,  the 
sweetest  and  most  pleasing,  the  grandest  and  the  most 
beautiful  ever  known  to  language.  The  subject  matter 
is  his  "Love,"  his  "lost"  Muse. 


Two  modes  of  personification  is  used.  A  lower  de- 
gree of  personification  with  apostrophe,  using-  the  pronoun 
"you." 

Second,  The  highest  degree  of  personification  with 
apostrophe  by  using  the  pronoun  "thou." 


NOTES  TO  THE  SONNETS 

(As  found  in  the  Old  Quarto.) 

SONNET  I. 

Apostrophe  to  himself 
7.-8.  "Making  a  famine  wliere  abundance  lies"  by 

disowning  his  Muse,  thereby — 

"Thyself  thy  foe,  to  thy  sweet  self  too  cruel."' 
9.       Line  9  shows  that  his  Muse  must  have  been  exceed- 
ingly popular  at  the  time. 

SONNET  II. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 

4.  "Tattered  weed,"  tattered  clothes,  dress; 
"weed"  is  used  in  many  places  of  the  Plays  in  this 
sense;  it  was  a  common  expression  in  those  days. 
So  in  Sonnet  76,  line  6.    See  Dictionary. 

SONNET  III. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 
4.  "Some  mother,"  the  Goddess  Muse. 

SONNET  IV. 

Apostrophe  to  himself 

5.  "Thou,"  "niggard,"  the  author,  "For  having 
9.                  traffic  with  thyself  alone,"  not  allowing  him- 
self to  be  known  as  the  author. 

SONNET  V. 
No  apostrophe ;  general  considerations 
2.  "The  lovely  gaze,"  i.  e.,  his  Muse. 

SONNET  VI. 

Apostrophe  to  himself 
1.  "Then  let  not  winter's  ragged  hand  deface 


55 

2,  In  thee   thy  summer."      For  the   figurative 

meaning-  of  "winter"  and  "summer"  see  chapter 
III.  page  51. 

SONNET  VII. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 

1.  "'The  gracious  hght,"  the  sun. 

13.  **So  thou,  thyself  outgoing  in  thy  noon,"  i.  e., 
the  author  at  the  height  of  his  poetic  career. 

14.  "Unlook'd  on  diest,"  i.  e.,  by  remaining  in  the 
dark,  and  not  become  the  known  author. 

14.  "Unless  thou  get  a  son."  Here  is  a  play  on  the 
word  "son,"'  meaning  here  Sonnet.  This  is  clear 
from  line  14  in  Sonnet  XIII  where  "son"  means  liis 
Sonnets  collectively. 

SONNET  VIII. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 
S.  "Why  lovest  thou  that  which  thou  receivest 

not  gladly  ?"  referring  to  his  nom  de  plume. 

SONNET  IX. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 

2.  "'Single  life,"  not  wedded  to  his  Muse. 

SONNET  X. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 
7.  "Seeking   that   beauteous   roof   to   ruinate," 

meaning  the  title-page  of  his  book. 

SONNET  XI. 

Apostrophe  to  himself 

1.  "As  fast  as  thou  shalt  wane,  so  fast  thou 

2.  growest,  in  one  of  thine,"  i.  e.,  the  assumed  name, 
Will  Shakespeare.  As  fast  as  he  is  forgotten  as  the 
author  he  grows  in  the  name  of  Shakespeare. 

SONNET  XII. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 
14.  **Save  breed,"  literary  offspring,  or  other- 

wise. 


56 


SONNET  XIII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
1.  "0,  that  you  were  yourself,"  i.  e.,  known  by 

Bacon's  name. 

13.  "Dear  my  love,  you  know 

14.  you  had  a  father,  let  your  son  say  so," 
"father'ofhis  Muse,  Bacon.  "Let  your  son  (i.e., 
sonnet)  say  so,"  let  the  Sonnets  explain  this.  The 
Sonnets  do  tell  who  is  the  father  of  his  Muse,  the 
Plays. 

SONNET  XIV. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
6-14.  The  last  six  lines  of  the  Sonnet  refer  to  the 

knowledge  to  be  found  in  his  Muse  concerning-  his 
authorship.  "Thine  eyes,"  those  parts  that  give 
particular  information,  such  as  his  monogram 
Figure  and  the  contrivances  to  explain  the  same. 

SONNET  XV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

13.  "In  war  with  Time"   he  strives  to  fortify 

14.  himself  against  literary  decay. 

SONNET  XVI. 

Apostrophe  to  himself 

8.  "Painted  counterfit,"  The  Figure. 

SONNET  XVII. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 
1-14.  He    gives  reasons    why    he  does  not  write 

openly.  But  his  verse  is  "as  a  tomb"  which  hides 
his  life  as  author. 

SONNET  XVIII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

9.  "  But  thy   eternal   summer   shall   not   fade 

10.  Nor  loose  possession  of  that  fair  thou  owest." 
His  Muse  will  live  forever  and  his  name,  "that  fair 
thou  owest"  (ownest,)  will  not,  and  can  not,  be  lost 
from  his  poetry.  Owe,  to  possess,  have,  own.  Now 
obsolete. 


57 

SONNET  XIX. 
Apostrophe  to  Time 

9.  "0,  carve  not  with  the  hours  my  love's  fair 

10.  brow,  Nor  draw  no  lines  there  with  thine 
antique  pen."  He  implores  Time  to  leave  his  Muse 
untouched  by  age  that  it  may  live  forever  bright. 

11.  "Him  in  thy  course  untainted  do  allow,"  that 
he  himself,  Bacon,  be  allowed  to  be  known  forever 
as  its  author. 

SONNET  XX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
2.  "The  Master-mistress  of  my  passion,"  i.  e., 

his  Muse;  it  is  here  compared  to  a  woman.      The 
term  is  similarly  used  in  L.  L.  L.  in  several  places. 

SONNET  XXI 

No  Apostrophe.     General 

12.  "Those  gold  candles  fix'd  in  heaven's  air," 
the  sun  and  the  moon. 

SONNET  XXII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
6.  "Seemly  raiment  of  my  heart,"  his  thoughts 

expressed  in  his  Muse. 

SONNET  XXIII. 
No  Apostrophe.     General 
9.  He  implores  us  to  let  "his  books"  be  "the 

11.  eloquence"  to  show  him  up  to  us  "for  recompense," 
to  be  the  recognized  author, — 

13.  "0,  learn  to  read  what  silent  love  hath  writ: 

14.  To  hear  with  eyes  belongs  to  love's  fine  wit." 

SONNET  XXIV. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
4.  The   "perspective"   of  his  Muse  shows  the 

"true  immage"  of  the  author. 

"Mine  eyes  (i.  e.,  his  mind's  eye)  have  drawn 
thy  shape,  and  thine  (the  "perspective"  of 
his  Muse)  for  me 


58 


Are   windows  to  my  breast  where-through 

the  sun 

Dehg-hts  to  peep,  to  gaze  therein  on  thee." 
When  we  see  his  name  in  the  perspective  of  his 
Muse  the  sun  goes  up  for  us,  and  lights  up  his 
"breast,"  his  authorship,  for  us  "to  gaze  therein  at 
thee,"  i,  e.,  his  Muse.  His  Muse  becomes  quite  a 
different  thing  when  we  see  it  in  this  hght.  This 
is  bealtifully  expressed. 

SONNET  XXV. 
No  Apostrophe.    General 
Speaking   of    the    mutability    of    things    he 
praises  himself  lucky  that  he  is  not  wedded  to  any- 
thing changeable: 

13.  "Then  happy   I,  that  love   and    am  beloved 

14.  Where  I  may  not  remove,  nor  be  removed." 
Having  his  name  woven  into  his  Muse  he  can  "not 
remove,  nor  be  removed"  from  it.  "Love  and  am 
beloved,"  figurative  expression  of  his  authorship- 

SONNET  XXVI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
14.  "Till  then  not  show  my  head,  where  thou 

mayst  prove  me,"  till  some  "star"  points  to  him  as 
the  author. 

SONNET  XXVn. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse,  lines  6 — 14. 
14.  "For  thee  and  for  myself  no  quiet  find,"  ex- 

pression of  his  ardent    desire    to  have  his  Muse 
known  as  his. 

SONNET  XXVni. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

13.  "But  day  doth  daily  draw  my  sorrows  longer 

14.  And  night  doth  nightly  make  grief's  strength 
seem  stronger."  As  time  passed,  his  authorship 
grew  more  and  more  dim.  For  the  last  two  hun- 
dred years  it  had  become  entirely  obscured. 


59 

SONNET  XXIX. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
This  is  in  some  respects  Uke  Sonnet  25.  After 
recounting  the  fickleness  of  fortune  he  derived  solace 
and  comfort    from    the    knowledge    that  his  fame 
would  rest  secure  with  his  Muse: 

13.  "For  thy  sweet  love  remember'd  such  wealth 

brings 

14.  That  then  I  scorn  to  change  my  state  with 

kings." 
Bacon  suffered  many  disappointments  and  reverses 
of  fortune. 

SONNET  XXX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse  lines  13 — 14. 

This  Sonnet  is  similar  in  thought  to  the  pre- 
ceeding  one. 

SONNET  XXXI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

I.  His  Muse  was  "endeared  with  all  hearts." 
In  his  Plays  reign  his  friends,  the  characters,  of 
his  dramas: 

8.  "And  there  reigns  love  and  all  love's  loving 

parts 

4.  And    all    those    friends    which    I    thought 

buried." 
"Interest  of  the  dead,"  i.  e.,  the  interest  he  took  in 
his  characters  as  he  delineated  them  in  his  plays 

5.  may  well  have  stolen  "many  a  holy  and  obsequious 
tear"  from  his  eye.    They  are  the 

10.  "Lovers  gone, 

II.  Who  all  their  parts  of  me  to  thee  did  give." 

SONNET  XXXII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  speaks  of  his  Muse  as  out-living  him,  and 
entreats  her  to  treasure  up  his  "rude  lines"  "for 
14.     his  love"  and  not  "for  their  style." 


60 


SONNET  XXXIII. 
No  Apostrophe 
At  first  his  poetry  was  known  to  be  by  him, 
but  he  soon  adopted  his  nom  de  plume,  "the  region 
cloud:" 

9.  "Even  so  my  sun  one  early  morn  did  shine 

10.  With  all  triumphent  splendor  on  my  brow; 

11.  But  out,  alack!  he  was  but  one  hour  mine; 

12.  The  region  cloud  hath  mask'd  him  from  me 

now." 

SONNET  XXXIV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse  as  the  sun 

9.  "Thy  shame,"  i.  e.,  to  be  known  by  the  false 

name  Shakespeare. 

SONNET  XXXV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Authorizing    thy    trespass    with    compare, 
i.  e.,  adopting  his  assumed  name. 
14.  "That  sweet  thief  which  sourly  robs  from 

me,"  his  nom  de  plume  Shakespeare.  "The  sensual 
fault,"  seen  on  the  Folio  title-page.  "Thy  adverse 
party  is  thy  advocate,"  i.  e..  Bacon  himself. 

SONNET  XXXVI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
A  plain  Sonnet  in  which  he  sets  forth  his 
relation  assumed  toward  her: 

9.  "I    may    not    evermore    acknowledge    thee 

10.  Lest  my  bewailed  guilt  (i.  e.,  his  assumed 
name)  should  do  thee  shame."  Compare  the  last 
two  lines  with  those  of  Sonnet  96. 

SONNET  XXXVII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
3.  "So  I,  made  lame  by  fortune's  dearest  spite," 

i.  e.,  lame  by  his  nom  de  plume,  "fortune's  dearest 
spite."     A  pretty  connet! 


El 

SONNET  XXXVIII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

Tlie  first  sonnet  in  which  he  expressly  men- 
tions his  Muse  as  inspiring  his  verse : 
2.  "That  pour'st  into  my  verse 

Thine    own    sweet   argument,    too    excellent 

For  every  vulgar  paper  to  rehearse." 
He  wishes  his  Muse  to  be 

"The  tenth  Muse,  ten  times  more  in  worth 
Than  those  old  nine  which  rhymers  invocate." 
The  nine  were: 

Clio,  the  Muse  of  heroic  exploits,  or  of  hist- 
ory; Euterpe,  of  Dionysiac  music  and  the  double 
flute;  Thalia,  of  gaity,  pastoral  life,  and  comedy; 
Melpomene,  of  song  and  harmony,  and  of  tragedy; 
Terpsichore,  of  choral  dance  and  song;  Erato,  of 
erotic  poetry  and  the  lyre;  Polmnia  or  Polyhym- 
nia, of  the  inspired  and  stately  hymn;  Urania,  of 
astronomical  and  other  celestial  phenomena;  and 
Caliope,  the  chief  of  the  Muses  of  poetic  inspiration, 
of  eloquence,  and  of  heroic  or  epic  poetry.  (Cen. 
Die,  Art.  Muse.) 

"He  that  calls  on  thee,"  i.  e.,  he  that  reads 
his  Muse,  the  Immortal  Plays, — 

"Let  him  bring  forth 

Eternal  numbers  to  outlive  long  date." 

SONNET  XXXIX 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

This  sonnet  is  noteworthy  because  here  he 

gives  a  reason  why  he  is  "separated"  from  his  Muse, 

by  means  of  his  nom  de  plume.     By  assuming  this 

relation  to  his  Muse  he  was  enabled  to  praise  it: — 

5.  "Even  for  this  let  us  divided  live 

6.  And  our  dear  love  loose  name  of  simple  one, 

7.  That  by  this  separation  I  may  give 

8.  That  due  to  thee  which  thou  deservest  alone." 
Compare  1.  4  with  Son.  62  1.  13. 


62 


SONNET  XL. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
9.  "I  do  forgive  thy  robbery,  gentle  thief,"  i.  e., 

the  robbery  of  his  nom  de  pkime. 

SONNET  XLI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Except  the  last  two  lines  which  is  an  apostroi)he  to* 
his  Tiom  de  plume,  Shakespeare.  This  abrupt 
change  from  one  apostrophe  to  anoiiier  is  one  of 
the  many  ways  used  to  confuse  the  meairirig  that 
his  identity  may  not  shine  through  too  plainly. 
12.  "Where  thou  art  forced  to  break  a  twofold 

ti*uth,"  i.  e.,  where  his  Muse  is  forced  to  divulge  a 
twofold  truth: 
IS.  "Hers    (i.  e.,  her  truth,  that  of  his  Muse,, 

being    like  one  shaking    a  speare)   by    thy 
beauty  (i.  e.,  the  fitness  of  the  name  Shake- 
speare) tempting  her  to  thee, 
14.  Thine  (i.  e.,  the  truth  that  the  name  Shake- 

speare fits  his  Muse)   by  thy  beauty  being 
false  to  me." 

SONNET  XLII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  nom  de  plume  Shake-speare. 

In  lines  8,  10  and  13  he  calls  it  his  "friend." 

"My  friend  and  I  are  one"  1.  13. 

1.  "That  thou  hast  her"   (1.  1.)  i.  e.,  that  the 

name  Shake-speare  has  his  Muse,  that  his  Muse  goes 

by  that  name. 

SONNET  XLIII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
1.  "When  I  most  wink,"  i.  e.,  when  he  gives  the 

plainest  hints  at  his  name  as  in  L.  L.  L.  and  else- 
where ;  these  are  the  "things  unrespected,"  they  are 
"Darkly  bright  are  bright  in  dark  directed." 


B3 

SONNET  XLTV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
A  fine  sonnet,  addressing  his  Muse  as  being 
distant  from  him. 

SONNET  XLV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

"The  other  two,  hght  air  and  purging  fire:" 
The  first  two,  earth  and  water,  are  named  in  Son- 
net 44,  line  11.  Fire,  water,  earth,  and  air  were  the 
four  things  falsy  regarded  by  the  ancients  as  the 
■constituents  of  which  all  things  are  composed.  He 
compares  his  thought  to  "light  air,"  and  his  desire 
to  "purging  fire;"  his  body  is, — 

■"So  much  of  earth  and  water  WTOught." 

SONNET  XLVI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
5.  'TVIy  heart  doth  plead  that  thou  in  him  dost 

lie,"  i.  e.,  in  Shake-speare,  the  nom  de  plume. 
7.  "But   the   defendant  doth   that   plead   deny 

8.  And  says  in  him  (i.  e.,  in  Bacon)  thy  fair 

appearance  lies." 

SONNET  XLVII. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
10.  "Thyself  away  art  present  still  with  me,"  his 

Muse  considered  as  absent  from  him  through 
his  nom  de  plume. 

SONNET  XLVIII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
*'How  careful  was  I,  when  I  took  my  way, 
Each    trifle    under    truest    bars  to    thrust, 
That  to  my  use  it  might  unused  stay 
From  hands  of  falsehood,  in  sure  wards  of 

trust." 
Here  he  accurately  describes  how,  when  he  decided 
to  conceal  his  authorship  under  the  name  Shake- 
speare,  he  took  every  precaution  that  his  name 


64 


might  be  covered  up  and  yet  remain  secure  as  part 
of  his  very  Muse.  This  is  novv'here  more  clearly  seen 
than  in  Love's  Labour  Lost  and  in  his  name  on  the 
Great  title-page  of  his  Muse.  In  the  next  line  he 
calls  these  trifles  "my  jewels." 

SONNET  XLIX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
In  the  first  eight  lines  he  contemplates  the 
time, — 

1.  "If  ever  that  time  come," 
when  his  Muse  shall  be  known  only  as 
"Shakespeare's." 

9.  "Against  that  time  I  do  ensconse  me  here," 

against  such  an  vent  he  has  ensconced  himself  well 
in  his  Muse. 

SONNET  L. 
Apostrophe  to  Himself,  lines  4  and  8. 

2.  "My  weary  travel's  end,"  i.  e.,  being  ultimate- 
ly known  author  of  his  Muse. 

4.  "Thus  far  the  miles  are  measured  from  thy 
friend,"  i.  e.,  from  his  Muse. 

5.  "The  beast  that  bears  me  (i.  e.,  hog  in  allusion 
t  to  his  name  Bacon,  in  The  Figure,)  tired  with  my 

woe 

6.  Plods  dully  on,  to  bear  that  weight  in  me 

7.  As  if  by  some  instinct  the  wretch  did  know 

8.  His  rider  loved  not  speed,  being  made  from 
thee,"  i.  e.,  being  made  from  Bacon.    Hence 

"groan"  in  lines  11  and  13.     Compare  sonnet 
with  L.  L.  L.  IV.  2.  86. 

SONNET  LI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
An  interesting  and  amusing  sonnet.     In  al- 
lusion to  his  name  he  pictures  himself  as  speeding 
2.       away  from  his  Muse  on  his  "dull  bearer,"  the  hog. 
Uutil  he  is  discovered  there  is  no  need  of 
haste, — 


Srf- 


'V..,-  i  i^urc.ihacchou  ha 

WhrrcinihcGMu'.r  h^ 
wiih  Nature,  toojc .; 

0,i.u.i;.!  hcl>utl«ucdtj  .■ 
AiWcllu>bnlli;,l<I. 

Hi-hcc  ,  iheftuitwoi.. 
.\.l,cluiwiscu<-rvv 
■.  t.;iiKeliCJjnf»oi,  Ri  . 
Noi on  hj  Piilturc. !  „i 


SHAKESPEARtS 


BACON  RETURNED 

The  mask  of  the  Figure  removed,  'the  suspicious  head  of  theft  is 
stopp'd  (L.  L.  L.  IV.  3.  33G)  exposing  BACON,  (hog)  'the  beast  that 
bears  me'  (Sonnet  L.  5). 

"Till   I  return  of  posting  is  no  need. 

O  what  excuse  will  my  poor  beast  then  find. 

When  swift  extremity  can  seem  but  slow  ? 

Then  should  I  spur,  though  mounted  on  the  wind. 

In  winged  speed  no  motion  shall  I  know." — Sonnet  LI.  4-8. 


Plate  VII.  a. 


65 

4.  "Till  I  return,  of  posting  is  no  need."     But 

when  he  is  seen  as  the  author  of  his  Muse,  then  the 
fastest  speed  is  slow, — 
7.  "Then  should  I  spur,  though  mounted  on  the 

wind." 

He  will  run  to  meet  her, — 
14.  "Towards  thee  I'll  run,  and  give  him  leave 

to  go." 

SONNET  LII. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

2.  He    compares    his  Muse    to    an    "up-locked 
treasure"    (1.  2.), — 

3.  "The  which  he  will  not  every  hour  survey." 
Time  keeps  his  Muse, — 

9.  "So  is  the  time,  that  keeps  you  as  my  chest" 

in  order, — 

11.  "To  make  some  special  instant  special  blest 

12.  By  new  unfolding  his  imprison'd  pride,"  i.  e., 
his  authorship. 

SONNET  LHI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
A  stirring  sonnet  praising  his  Muse,  compar- 
ing her  excellence  with  different  known  objects  of 
beauty.    But  her  heart  is  constant  for  Bacon : 

"But  you  like  none,  none  you,  for  constant 

heart." 

SONNET  LIV 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Having  compared  his  Muse  to  Roses  he  says 
of  her: 

13.  "And  so  of  you,  beauteous  and  lovely  youth, 

14.  When  that  shall  fade  my  verse  distill  your 
truth," 

that  is,  when  his  Muse  gets  old,  in  the  course  of 
time,  his  authorship  will  be  finally  established  and 
fully  understood. 


66 


SONNET  LV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

2.  "This    powerful    rhyme"    (1.  2.)    i.  e,,    these 
sonnets.     His  Muse — 

3.  "Shall  shine  more  bright  in  these  contents 
Than  unswept  stone  besmear'd  with  sluttish 
time." 

And, — 

10.  "Shall    pace   forth ;    your   praise    shall    still 

find  room 

11.  Even  in  the  eyes  of  all  posterity 

12.  That  wear  this  world    out    to    the    ending- 

doom." 

The  opening  parts  of  this  sonnet,  like  those  of 

sonnet  65  remind  us  of  the  opening  parts  of  L.  L.  L. 

SONNET  LVI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
"This  sad  interim"  (1.  9.)  i.  e.,  from  the  time 
his  Muse  became  known  by  the  name  Shakespeare 
until  he  is  seen  to  be  the  true  author.    This  interim 
is  called  "winter,"  1.  13.  and  elsewhere. 

SONNET  LVII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  compares  himself  to  a  slave  that  does  her 
biddings. 

SONNET  LVHI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Much  hke  the  preceding. 

SONNET  LIX. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
"Composed  wonder,"  his  Plays,  his  Musp.    He 
expresses  a  wish  that  he  could  look  forward, — 
6.  "Five  hundred  courses  of  the  sun," 

in  order, — 
9.  "That  I  might  see  what  the  old  world  could 

say 


67_ 

10.  To  this  composed  wonder  of  your  frame." 

SONNET  LX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Describing  the  mutabihty  of  thirigs  he  as- 
serts his  verse,  these  sonnets,  shall  endure  to  praise 
his  Muse: 

13.  'And  yet  to  times  in  hope  my  verse  shall  t-tand 

14.  Praising  thy  worth  despite  his  cruel  hand." 

SONNET  LXI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

12.  Describing  himself  as  her  watchman,  line  12. 

SONNET  LXII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

13.  "Tis  thee,  myself,  that  for  myself  I  praise." 

SONNET  LXIII. 

No  Apostrophe 

3.  "When  hours  have  drained  his  (i.  e.,  Bacon's) 
blood  and  fill'd  his  brow 

4.  With  lines  and  wrinkles," 
then, — 

9.  "For  such  a  time  do  I  now  fortify" 

in  order  that, — 

13.  "His  (i.  e.,  Bacon's)    beauty  shall  in    these 
black  lines  be  seen, 

14.  And    they  shall  live,  and    he  in  them    still 

green." 

SONNET  LXIV. 
No  Apostrophe 
He  considered  how  Time  changes  everything ; 
this, — 

11.  "Ruin  hath  taught  me  thus  to  ruminate, 

12.  That  Time  will  come  and  take  my  love  away," 
i.  e.,  his  Muse;  that  the  Plays  may  be  lost  to  him. 

SONNET  LXV. 
No  Apostrophe 
A  general  consideration  of  the  ruinous  effects 


68 


of  Time.    Therefore  how  can  his  Muse,  Time's  best 
jewel,  be  preserved? 

9.  "Where,  alack, 

10.  Shall  Time's  best  jewel  from  Time's  chest  lie 

hid?" 
But  perhaps, — 

"This  miracle  have  might 
That  in  black  ink  my  love  may  still  shine 

bright." 
This  Sonnet  also  like  Sonnet  55  reminds  us  of  the 
opening  lines  in  Love's  Labour  Lost. 

SONNET  LXVL 

No  Apostrophe 
An  interesting  sonnet  in  which  he  recounts 
the  relation  sustained  to  his  Muse  by  means  of  his 
nom  de  plume,  "Shakespeare"  which  is, — 

3.  "Needy  nothing  trimmed  in  jollity. 
And  so  is, — 

4.  "Purest  faith  unhappily  forsworn 

5.  And  gilded  honour  shamefully  misplaced, 

6.  And  maiden  virtue  rudely  strumpeted, 

7.  And  right  perfection  wrongfully  disgraced, 
7.  And  strength  by  limping    sway    disabled, 

9.  And  art  made  tongue-tied  by  authority, 

10.  And  folly  doctor-like  controlling  skill 

11.  And  simple  truth  miscall'd  simplicity, 

12.  And  captive  good  attending  captain  ill." 

SONNET  LXVIL 

No  Apostrophe 
A  sonnet  to  his  nom  de  plume,  "Shakespeare." 
The  Figure  is, — 
5.  "False  painting  imitate  his  cheek,"  i.  e., 

Shakespeare's. 

SONNET  LXVIIL 

No  Apostrophe 
1.  Shakespeare's  cheek  is, — 

"The  map  of  days  outworn." 


^ 69 

Being  a  "Mirror  up  to  Nature,"  he  calls  his  Muse 
"Nature." 

13.  "And  him  as  for  a  map  doth  Nature  store 

14.  To  show  false  Art  what  beauty  was  of  yore." 
See  Hamlet,  Act  III.  2.  22:  Nature. 

SONNET  LXIX. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

He  describes  her  as  perfect. 

1.  "Those  parts  of  thee  that  the  world's  eye  doth 

view 

2.  Want  nothing  that  the  thought  of  hearts  can 

mend." 
But  the  same  tongues  that  praise  his  Muse  con- 
found it,  "in  guess,"  by  thinking  it  Shake-speare's — 

10.  "And  that,  in  guess,  they  measure  by  thy 

deeds,"  i.  e.,  Shake-speare,  because, — 

8.  "By  seeing  farther  than  the  eye  hath  shown," 

by  not  understanding  the  Introductory  Poem  and 
The  Figure,  Bacon's  name,  which  is  seen  so  plainly 
on  the  Title-page  and  in  Love's  Labour  Lost  of 
his  Book. 

SONNET  LXX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
1.  "That  thou  art  blamed  shall  not  be  thy  de- 

fect," i.  e.,  what  appear  as  faults  are  so  only  when 
his  Muse  is  not  understood:  for, — 

5.  "Slander  doth  but  approve 

6.  Thy  worth  the  greater,  being  woo'd  of  time," 
being  understood  in  time  to  come.  If  his  Muse  were 
not  suspected  to  be  of  Shake-speare, — 

13.  "If  some  suspect  of  ill  mask'd  not  thy  show 

14.  Then  thou  alone  kingdoms  of  hearts  shouldst 

owe." 

SONNET  LXXI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  entreats  her  not  to  mourn  long  for  him 
when  he  is  dead, — 


70 


13,  "Lest  the  wise  world  should  look  into  your 

moan 

14.  And  mock  you  with  me  after  I  am  gone."' 
"To  look  into  her  moan,"  to  begin  to  see  in  her  his. 
marks  of  authorship. 

SONNET  LXXII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Still  entreating  her  to  leave  him  forgotten 
when  he  is  dead, — 

9.  "Lest  3,T)ur  true  love  may  seem  false  in  this 

10.  That  you  for  love  speak  well  of  me  untrue,'* 
"untrue"  because  he  left  his  Muse  to  the  name 
"Shakespeare." 

SONNET  LXXIIL 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  compares  his  old  age  with  the  autumn  of 
the  year,  the  twilight  of  day,  and  to  smouldering  and 
dying  fire.     A  beautiful  sonnet. 

SONNET  LXXIV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  entreats  her  to  be  contented  though  he  be 
dead;  for  these  Sonnets  are  her's: 

5.  "When  thou  reviewest  this,  thou  dost  review 

6.  The  very  part  was  consecrate  to  thee." 
And, — 

8.  "My  spirit  is  thine,  the  better  part  of  me." 

SONNET  LXXV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  expresses  his  appreciation  of  her: 

1.  "So  are  you  to  my  thoughts  so  fond  to  life 

2.  Or  as    sweet-season'd    showers    are  to    the 

ground." 

SONNET  LXXVL 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

5.  "Why  write  I  still  all  one,  ever  the  same, 

6.  And  keep  invention  in  a  noted  weed," 


71 

The  noted  "weed,"  i.  e.,  dress,  is  his  nom  de  plume 
''Shakespeare:"  it  was  a  well-known  name  already. 

7.  "That  every  word  doth  almost  tell*  my  name, 

5.  Showing  their  birth  and  where  they  did  pro- 

ceed?" 
Here  he  has  express  reference  to  the  Introductory 
Poem  in  the  Folio  in  which  "every  word  doth  almost 
sell"  his  name, — 

8.  "Showing  their  birth  and  where  they  did  pro- 
ceed ?"  that  is  they  proceed  iDy  the  preposition  BI,  by, 
as  leader  to  his  name  on  the  next  page  of  the  title- 
page,  and  thereby  "showing  their  birth^'  alno  show- 
ing who  wrote  them. 

SONNET  LXXVII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
The  Sonnets  are  "thy  glass,"  L.  L.  L.  W. 
3.  40 :  my  tears  (sonnets)  for  glas.ses,  they  show  her 
beauties.     The  titie-page  of  the  Great  Folio  is  "thy 
7.       dial,"  which  shows  the  "shady  stealth."    The  son- 
nets truly  show  the  wrinkles  of  Bacon's  name  and 

6.  authorship  and  these  "mouthed  graves  will  give  thee 
memory  "  of  himself.  The  "vacant  leaves"  are  shown 
in  the  Folio  by  the  purposed  mispagination,  making 
leaves  appear  lost  or  "vacant,"  and  are  called  "waste 
blanks,"  1.  10.  which  plan  is  also  to  reveal  his 
namet, — 

10.  "Commit  to  these  waste  blanks,  and  thou 
shalt  find 

11.  Those   children  nursed   delivered    from   my 

brain," 
And  this, — 
14.  "Shall   profit    thee  and    much    enrich    thy 

book ;"  to  know  that  Bacon  is  the  author  im- 

*This  word  is  spelled  'sel'  in  the  original  quarto  purposely  te  confuse 
the  uninitiated. 

tSee  Bacon  is  Shakespeare,  also  The  Shakespeare  Myth,  p.  18  ff  for 
pagination  of  the  Folio  of  1623. 


72 


measurably  enriches  his  book. 

SONNET  LXXVIII. 

Apostrophe  to  his  nom  de  plume 
The  name  "ShaKe-spare"  has  inspired  all  his 
poetry : 
10.  "Whose  influence  is  thine  and  born  of  thee."" 

2.  Since  he  had  "found  such  fair  assistance"  from  its 
use  others  had  beg-un  to  use  it  for  their  productions. 
But  not  knowing^  the  deepsignificance  of  the  scheme 
of  the  name  as  used  by  Bacon,  therefore, — 

"In  others'  works  thou  dust  but  mend  the 

style:" 
but  to  Bacon  it  is  the  source  of  his  poesy, — 
13.  "Thou  art  all  my  art."  cf.  Son.  CXXVII. 

SONNET  LXXIX. 
Apostrophe,  in  the  first  four  lines,  to  his  nom 
de  plume:  the  last  ten  to  his  Muse.    This  sonnet  is 
chiefly    remarkable    for  telling  us  how    the    poet 
originated  the  word,  "Shake-speare." 

9.  "He  stole  that  word 

10.  From  thy  behavior;"  that  is,  he  invented  the 
name  from  her  behavior,  the  meaning,  of  his  Muse. 
She  shakes  the  spear  in  challenge  to  find  her  out, 
to  understand  her. 

SONNET  LXXX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  speaks  of  his  nom  de  plume  Shake-speare 
as  one  who, — 

3.  "Spends  all  his  might 

4.  To  make  me  tongue-tied,"  i.  e.,  to  conceal 
his  own  name,  his  authorship. 

SONNET  LXXXI.    . 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  Muse  will  live,  though  he  be  forgotten. 
13.  "You  still  shall  live — such  virtue  hath  my 

pen." 


73 

SONNET  LXXXII. 
Apostrophe,  the  first  four  lines  to  his  nom 
de  plume,   the  last  fourteen  to  his  Muse. 
His  Muse  is, — 
5.  "As  fair  in  knowledge  as  in  hue,"  i.  e.,  ap- 

pearance, therefore, — 

11.  Thou    truly    fair    wert   truly    sympathized 

12.  In    true    plain    words    by    thy    true-telling 

friend." 
Bacon   is   her   true-telling   friend    in   these 
sonnets. 

SONNET  LXXXIII. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  Muse  exceeds    the  praise  of  a  modern 
poet;    therefore,  keeping  his  name  from  common 
view, — 

9.  "This    silence  for  my    sin  you  did    impute 

10.  Which  shall  be  most  my  glory  being  dumb." 
To  have  given  his  pseudo-name  to  his  Muse 

he  calls  his  "sin,"  and, — 

13.  "There    lives    in    one    of    your    fair    eyes 

14.  Than  both  your  poets  can  in  praise  devise," 
"both  your  poets,"  i.  e.,  Bacon  and  Bacon  as  Shake- 
speare. 

SONNET  LXXXIV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
She  is  unequalled;  there  is  none  like  her, — 

3.  "In  whose  confine  immured  is  the  store 

4.  Which  should  example  where  your  equal 
grew,"  meaning  that  his  name  is  "immured"  in  his 
poetry,  showing  the  authorship. 

SONNET  LXXXV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
1.  "Tongue-tied  Muse;"  because  of  his  nom  de 

plume. 

SONNET  LXXXVI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  was  not  afraid  that    the    actor,    Shaxper 


74 


could  usurp  his  Muse, — 

12.  "I  was  not  sick  of  anj^  fear  from  thence," 
but  when  the  actor  began  to  adopt  the  spelHng  of 
the  name  Shake-speare,  the  nom  de  phime  of  Bacon's 
Muse: 

13.  "But  when  your   (i.  e.,  his  Muse's)   counte- 
nance fill'd  up  his  hue 

14.  Then  lack'd  I  matter;  that  enfeebled  mine." 

SONNET  LXXXVII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Having  adopted  the  name,  Shakespeare,  as 
his  nom  de  plume  and  his  Muse  being  henceforth 
known  by  that  name,  he  bids  her  farewell. 

SONNET  LXXXVIII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
By  his  remaining  unknown  his  Muse  will  win 
much  glory: 

8.  "That    thou    in  losing    mo  rhall    win  much 

glory." 

SONNET  LXXXTX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  will  disavow  his  own  Muse : 
13.  "For  thee  against  myself  I'll  vow  debate." 

SONNET  XC. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  speaks  of  her  as  leaving  him — through 
his  nom  de  plume: 

9.  "If  thou  wilt  leave  me,  do  not  leave  me  last, 

10.  When  other  petty  griefs  have  done  their  spite 

11.  But  in  the  outset  come,  so  shall  I  taste 

12.  At  first  the  very  worst  of  fortune's  might, 

13.  And  other  strains  of  woe,  which  now 

seem  woe. 
Compared  with  loss  of  thee  will  not 

seem  so." 


75 

SONNET  XCI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
The  love  of  his  Muse  is  better  to  him  than 
all  others  of  world's  pleasure;  that  is,  to  be  her 
author  is  greater  to  him  than  anything  else: 
12.  "And  having  thee,  of  all  men's  pride  I  boast." 

SONNET  XCII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
But  she  can  not  leave  him, — 
2.  "For  term  of  life  thou  art  assured  mine." 

When  she  tries  to  steal  away  from  him,  then  his 
marks,  his  title,  are  revealed: 

10.  "Since  that  my  life  on  thy  revolt  doth  lie, 

11.  0,  what  a  happy  title  do  I  find!" 

SONNET  XCIII. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Bacon  will  ever  live  in  her  looks,  his  name 
never  be  effaced  from  his  Muse, — 

5.  "For  there  can  live  no  hatred  in  thine  eye 

6.  Therefore  in  that  I  cannot  know  thy  change." 
This  Sonnet  portrays  her  dual  relation  to  the  author, 
as  Bacon  and  as  "Shakespeare." 

SONNET  XCIV. 

No  Apostrophe 
He  considers  his  relation  to  his  Muse  like 
those, — 

1.  "That  have  power  to  hurt  and  will  do  none, 

2.  That  do  not  do  the  thing  they  most  do  show." 

SONNET  XCV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  nom  de  plume  "Shake-speare"  is, — 

1.  "The  shame 

2.  Which,  like  a  canker  in  the  fragrant  rose, 

3.  Doth  spot  the  beauty  of  thy  budding  name." 

SONNET  XCVI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 


76 


A  most  important  and  remarkable  Sonnet, 
in  which  he  speaks  of  the  apparent  errors  of  his 
Muse,  and  explains  that  they  are  placed  there 
purposely:  and  to  those  that  understand  them, — 

4.  "Thou  makest  faults  graces," 
and, — 

5.  "As  on  the  finger  of  a  throned  queen 

6.  The  basest  jewel  will  be  well  esteem'd; 

7.  So  are  those  errors  that  in  thee  are  seen 

8.  To    truths    translated    and  for  true  things 

deem'd." 
It  is  very  interesting  to  note  here  what  the  people 
thought  of  these  errors  at  the  time:  some  thought 
they  were  due  to  unripe  scholarship,  to  "youth," 
others  thought  they  were  put  there  on  purpose,  due 
to  "wantonness."  Nowhere  is  this  more  apparent 
or  better  illustrated  than  in  Love's  Labour's  Lost. 
See  Act  V.  1,  pp.  44-45. 

The  last  two  lines  of  this  Sonnet  are  the 
same  as  those  in  Sonnet  XXXVL 

SONNET  XCVIL 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse. 
He  compares  his  "absence"  from  his  Muse  to 
"winter" : 

1.  "How  like  winter  hath  my  absence  been  from  thee." 

2.  This  is  a  common  simile  with  the  author. 

SONNET  XCVHL 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  Muse  is  like, — 
6.  "Different  flowers  in  order  and  in  hue." 

She  is  their  pattern: 

9.  "Nor  did  I  wonder  at  the  lily's  white, 

10.  Nor  praise  the  deep  vermilion  in  the  rose; 

11.  They  were  but  sweet,  but  figures  of  delight, 

12.  Drawn  after  you,  you  pattern  of  aii  those." 


77 

SOMNET  XCIX. 
Apostrophes  to  the  violet,  syiiiholical  of  liis 
nom  de  phime,  and  to  his  Muse.       Hence, — 

1.  "Sweet  thief,  whence  dids't  thou  steal  thy 
sweet  that  smells 

2.  If  not  from  my  love's  breath?" 
Of  roses: 

7.  "The  roses   fearfulb^    on   thorns  did   stand 

8.  One  blushing  shame,  another  white  despair," 
emblematic  of  Bacon  and  his  Muse: 

9.  "A  third,  nor  red,  nor  white,  had  stol'n  of 
both,"  emblematic  of  the  actor  ShaxiDer  who  allov/ed 
himself  to  become  identified  with  Bacon's  nom  de 
plume,  Shape-speare, 

10.  "And  to  his  robbery  had  annex'd  thy  breath ; 

11.  But,  for  his  thief t,  in  pride  of  all  his  growth 

12.  A  vengful  canker  eat  him  up  to  death." 

SONNET  C. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Invoking  the  return  of  his  Muse  he  requests 
her  to  survey  his  "love's  "  his  Muse's  "sweet  face," 
and  to, — 

13.  "Give  my  love  fame  faster  than  Time  wastes 

Hfe." 

SONNET  CI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
The  use  of  his  nom  de  plume  "Shake-speare" 
for  his  Muse  he  calls, — 
2.  "Neglect  of  truth  in  beauty  dyed." 

Will  Muse  remain  dumb  though  he,  (Bacon)  needs 
no  praise: 
9.  "Because  he  needs  no  praise,  wilt  thou  be 

dumb?" 
It  lies  with  Muse, — 

11.  "To  make  him  much  outlive  a  gilded  tomb, 

12.  And  to  be  praised  of  ages  yet  to  be." 


78 


SONNET  CII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  speaks  of  their  mutual  love,  which  is  "not 
less"  though  he  uses  an  assumed  name, — 
2  "I  love  not  less,  though  less  the  show  appear." 

And  like  Philomel, — 

13.  "I  sometime  hold  my  tongue 

14.  Because  I  would  not  dull  you  (i.  e.,  his  Muse) 

wdth  my  song." 

SONNET  cm. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  verses  tell  of  the  gifts  and  graces  of  his 
Muse : 

11.  "For  to  no  other  pass  my  verses  tend 

12.  Than  of  your  graces  and  your  gifts  to  tell." 

SONNET  CIV. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  Muse  is  never  old  to  him: 
1.  "To  me,  fair  friend,  you  never  can  be  old." 

But  the  coming  ages  should  know  that, — 
14.  "Ere  you  were  born  was  beauty's  summer 

dead,  that  is,  dead  to  him  and  so  to  others,  through 
his  assumed  name. 

SONNET  CV. 
No  Apostrophe 
Of  his  Muse, — 
9.       "'Fair,  kind,  and  true'  is  all  my  argument." 

SONNET  CVI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
All  their  praises  of  former  times, — 

9.  "Are  but  prophicies 

10.  Of  this  our  time,  all  you  prefiguring." 

SONNET  CVH. 
Apostrophe  to  himself 
His  Muse  is,  because  hidden  under  a  pseudo- 
nym,— 


79 

4.  "Supposed  as  forfeit  to  a  confined  doom." 

Through  his  assumed  name  she  subscribes  "death" 
to  him,  literary  death : 

10.  "My  love  looks  fresh,  and  death  to  me  sub- 
scribes," yet  in  spite  of  "Shake-speare," — 

11.  "Since,  spite  of  him,  I'll  live  in  this  poor 
rhyme,"  while  the  great  multitude  does  not  under- 
stand that  "Shake-speare"  is  a  nom  de  plume, — 

12.  "While  he  insults  over  dull  and  speechless 

tribes." 
Bacon  shall  find  his  monument  in  this  rhyme, — 

13.  "And  thou  in  this  shalt  find  thy  monument 

14.  When  tyrants'  crests  and  tombs  of  brass  are 

spent." 

SONNET  CVm. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

Everything-  has  been  said, — 

4.  "That  may  express    my    love  or  thy    dear 

merit." 
Anything-  new  to  reg-ister  in  her  praise? 

5.  "Nothing,  sweet  boy,"  i.  e.,  Cupid  as  Shake- 
speare, the  name  of  his  Muse,  as  seen  from  line 
eight, — 

8.  "Even    as  when    first  I  hallow'd    thy  fair 

name,"  here  also  referred  to  as  Cupid'  The  Figure 
on  the  title-page  of  the  Folio,  "for  gentle  Shake- 
speare cut."  He  is  the  "sweet  boy"  with  "his  love- 
kindling  fire,"  "his  heart-inflaming  brand,"  his 
"fire  new  words,"  shooting  his  shafts,  his  spears 
seen  in  his  collar,  hence  "shake-speare,"  to  win 
Bacon  for  his  love,  his  Muse. 

SONNET  CIX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Though  "absent"  under  the  assumed  name 
he  is  not  false  to  his  Muse,  and  will  return  again, — 

5.  "If  I  have  ranged, 

6.  Like  him  that  travels  I  return  again," 


80 


he  will  in  time  be  known  by  his  proper  name. 

SONNET  ex. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  acknowledges  that  he  has  wandered  "here 
and  there"  from  her,  and, — 

5.  "Looked  on  truth 

6.  Askance  and  strangely,"  imputing  the 
authorship  to  "Shake-speare." 

SONNET  CXI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Her  pity,  her  love  for  him  as  her  author,  is 
enough    to  cure    him    of  public    manners    bred  by 
public  means: 

13.  "Pity  me  then,  dear  friend,  and  I  assure  ye 

14.  Even  that  your  pity  is  enough  to  cure  me." 

SONNET  CXn. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
There  were  so  many  things,  "love  and  pity," 
in  his  Muse  that  pointed  to  him  as  her  author  that 
he  became  more  or  less  suspected  of  this  fact  (vul- 
gar scandal') : 

1.  "Your  love  and  pity  doth  the  impression  fill 

2.  Which  vulgar  scandall  stamp'd  upon  my 
brow."  Cf.  Son.  131,  14.  "slander:"  and  Son.  140, 
12,  "mad  slanderers." 

SONNET  CXni. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  mind  is  all  taken  up  with  his  Muse: 

9.  "For  if  it  see  the  rudest    gentlest    sight, 

10.  The  most  sweet  favor  or  deformed'st  creat- 

ure, 

11.  The  mountain  or  the  sea,  the  day  or  night, 

12.  The  crow  or  dove,  it  shapes  them  to  your 

feature." 


81 

SONNET  CXIV. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
His  mind  is  flatter'd  with  his  Muse: 

1.  "Or,  whether  doth  my  mind,  being  crowned 

with  you, 

2.  Drink     up     the     monarch's     plague,     this 

flattery?" 

SONNET  CXV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Fearing  time's  tyranny  that  he  might  never 
be  seen  the  author  of  his  Muse  he  "loves"  her  best 
now: 

9,  "Alas,  why,  fearing  of  time's  tyranny, 

10.  When  I  was  certain  o'er  incertainty, 

12.  Crowning  the  present,  doubting  of  the  rest?" 

SONNET  CXVI. 

No  Apostrophe 
He  asserts  the  constancy  of  love. 

SONNET  CXVn. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Let  her  accuse  him  of  having  "hoisted  sail" 
(through  his  nom  de  plume)    "to  all  the  winds:" 

7.  "That  I  have  hoisted  sail  to  all  the  winds 

8.  Which  should  transport    me  farthest   from 

your  sight." 

SONNET  CXVHI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Like  as, — 
4.  "We  sicken  to  shun  sickness  when  we  purge." 

So  he  by  assuming  his  nom  de  plume: 

6.  "To  bitter  sauces  did  I  frame  my  feeding 

7.  And,  sick  of  welfare,  found  a  kind  of  meetness 

8.  To  be  diseased  ere  that  there  was  true  need- 

ing." 


S2 


sonn:et  cxix. 

No  Apostrophe 
His  Muse    is  made    better   by  his  assumed 
name,  the  "evil  •/' 

9.  "0  benefit  of  ill!     now  I  find  true 

10.  That  better  is  by  evil  still  made  better,'* 
and, — 

13.  "So  I  return  rebuked  to  my  content 

14,  And  gain  by  ill  thrice  more  than  I  have  spent."" 

SOKNET  CXX. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
1.  She  was  "once  unkind"  to  him  due  to  his 

3.       "transgression,"  the  adoption  of  his  assumed  name  i 

5.  "For  if  you  were  by  my  unkindness  shaken 

6.  As  I  by  yours,  you've  pass'd  a  hell  of  time." 
9.       His  "descent"  he  calls  "our  night  of  woe,"  1.  9. 

SONNET  CXXI. 
No  Apostrophe 
He  compares,  in  a  general  way,  what  appears 
to  be  with  what  is  actual. 

SONNET  CXXH. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  calls  his  several  plays  the  "tables,"  the 
"gift"  of  his  Muse,— 

1.  "'Thy  gift,  thy  tables,  are  within  my  brain 

2.  Full  character'd  with  lasting  memory." 
They  will  outlive  those  of  others : 

3.  "Which   shall   above  that  idle  rank  remain 

4.  Bej^ond  all  date,  even  to  eternity." 

He  trusts  "those  tables"  with  his  name  to  retain  it 
for  him ;  the  ordinary  way  "that  poor  retention"  is 
too  uncertain: 

9.  "That  poor  retention  could  not  so  much  hold 

10.  Nor  need  I  tallies  thy  dear  love  to  score: 

11.  Therefore  to  give  them  from  me  was  I  bold, 

12.  To  trust  those  tables  that  receive  thee  more." 


83 

SONNET  CXXIII. 

Apostrophe  to  Time 
He  defies  Time  and  its  records  that  he  will 
not  change,  that  his  Muse  will  outlast  Time: 
9.  "Thy  registers  and  thee  I  both  defy." 

SONNET  CXXIV. 

No  Apostrophe 
His  Muse  v/as  builded  far  from  accident: 
5.  ■"No  it  was  builded  far  from  accident." 

SONNET  CXXV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Without  openly  proclaiming  his  authorsbip  he 
is  satisfied  to  remain  submissive  to  his  Muse: 

9.  "Let  me  be  obsequious  in  thy  heart, 

10.  And  take  thou  my  oblation,  poor  but  free." 

SONNET  CXXVI. 
Apostrophe  to  Cupid,  The  Figure 
The  Figure  has  it  in  its  power  to  determine  the  time 
when  Bacon's  name  shall  be  seen  in  it,  and  so  win 
him  for  his  Muse: 

1.  "0  thou,  my  lovely  boy,  who  in  thy  power 

2.  Dost  hold  Time's  fickle  glass,  his  sickle,  hour; 

3.  Who   hast  by   waning   grown,    and   therein 

show'st, 

4.  Thy    lover's    withering    as  thy    sweet    self 

grow'st." 
Nature,  i.  e.,  his  Plays*,  his  Muse,  keeps  Cupid, 
"Shakespeare,"  The  Figure, — 

7.  "To  this  purpose,  that  her  skill 

8.  May  time  disgrace  and  wretched  minutes  kill." 
He  is  the  "minion  of  her  pleasure,"  and, — 

11.  "Her  audit,  though  delay'd,  answer'd  must 

be, 

12.  And  her  quietus  is  to  render  thee,"  i.  e.,  to 


*See  "Mirror  up  nature,"  Hamlet,  III.  2.  20. 


84 


give  up  the  secret  of  The  Fiugure,  viz.,  Bacon's 
name.  The  vacant  lines  13  and  14  are  indicated  by 
two  set  of  parentheses  in  the  quarto.  This  is  done 
to  indicate  a  place  for  the  answer  to  the  last  line. 
Here  ends  the  first  series  of  Sonnets. 

SONNET  CXXVII. 

No  Apostrophe 
Another  remarkable  Sonnet,  that  gives  us 
much  information.  It  refers  to  the  theft  of  the  name 
"Shakespeare"  by  the  printers'  and  publishers'  af- 
fixing it  to  a  great  variety  of  writings  that  were  not 
Bacon's : 

6.  "Fairing  the  foul  with  art's  false  borrow'd 

face." 
The  name  Shakespeare  was  his  art's  false 
face,  which  they  borrowed.     Hence, — 

7.  "Sweet    beauty   (i.  e.,  his  Muse)    hath    no 
name,  no  holy  hour, 

8.  But    is  profaned,    if  not  lives   in  disgrace," 
from  bad  company.       Therefore, — 

3.  "Now  is  black  beauty's  successive  heir, 

4.  And  beauty  slandered  with  a  bastard  shame ;" 
And, — 

9.  "Therefore  my  mistress'    brows    are  raven 

black 

10.  Her  eyes  so  suited  that  they  mourners  seem 

11.  At  such  who,  not  born  fair,  no  beauty  lack, 

12.  Slandering  creation  with  a  false  esteem." 
Cf.  Son.  LXXVHI. 

SONNET  CXXVHI 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
The  wood-cut  of  The  Figure  upon  which, — 

1.  "Thou  my  music,  music  play'st," 
he  calls, — 

2.  "That   blessed    wood   whose   motion    sounds 

3.  With  thy  sweet  fingers." 


85 

He  onviss  the  letters  of  The  Figure,  "those  dancing 
chips,"  "those  jacks," — 

5.  "That  nimble  leap 

6.  To    Idss    the  tender    inward    of  thy  hand." 

SONNET  CXXIX. 
No  Apostrophe 
General  consideration  of, — 

I.  *'The  expense  of  spirit  in  a  waste  of  shame," 
suggested  by  his  assumed  relation  toward  his  Muse. 

SONNET  CXXX. 

No  Apostrophe 
He  avers  that  he  never  saw  the  Goddess  Muse 
go,  but  his  Muse,  being  in  himself,  and  committed  to 
paper,  "treads  on  the  ground:" 

II.  "I  grant  I  never  saw  a  goddess  go; — 

12.  My  mistress  when  she  walks  treads  on  the 

ground." 
The  goddess  Muse  is  "belied"  by  comparing  her  with 
earthly  muse;  so  is  his  Muse  behed  by  affixing  her 
name  "Shakespeare"  to  poetry  not  his: 

13.  "And  yet,  by  heaven,  I  think  my  love  as  fair 

14.  And  as  she  belied  with  false  compare." 

In  allusion  to  the  ancient    custom  of  winding    the 
ridge,  or  top,  of  the  helmet  with  wires*  he  says: 
4.  "If  hairs  be  wires,  black  wires  grow  on  her 

head." 
A  helmet  suggests  the  mask  of  The  Figure,  the 
mask  of  his  Muse. 

SONNET  CXXXI. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
12.  For  "black"  cf .  Sonnets  127 ;  132,  13 ;  147,  14. 

14.  For  "slander"  cf.  Son.  112.  2.  "vulgar  scan- 

*0'er  the  roof  of  the  helmet  high,  a  ridge  wound  with  wires  kept 
ward  o'er  the  head,' — Beowulf,  XV.  41.  See  Harvard  Classics,  Vol.  49 
for  illustrations. 


86 


dal;"  Sonnet  140,  12.  "mad  slanderers." 

SONNET  CXXXII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

Her  "eyes"  are  pitying  him  because  of  his 
secret  authorship,  his  "pain:" 

1.  "Thine  eyes  I  love,  and  they,  as  pitying  me 

2.  Knowing  thy  heart  torments  me  with  disdain 

3.  Have  put  on  black  and  loving  mourners  be, 

4.  Looking   with    pretty    ruth  upon  my  pain." 

SONNET  CXXXIH. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Her  heart  makes  his  heart  to  "g^^oan,"  giving 
a  wound  to  his  "friend,"  "Shakespeare,"  his  nom  de 
plume,  and  to  himself: 

1.  "Beshrew  that  heart  that  makes  my  heart  to 

groan 

2.  For  that  deep  wound  it  gives  my  friend  and 

me." 

SONNET  CXXXIV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
A  very  remarkable  sonnet,  very  plain  in  its 
statements  of  his  relation  to  "Will  Shakespeare," 
"that  other  mine,"  his  pseudonym,  and  to  his  Muse: 

1.  "So  now  I  have  confess'd  that  he  is  thine, 

2.  And  I  myself    am  mortgaged    to  thy  will." 
And, — 

7.  "He  leam'd  but  surety-like  to  write  for  me 

8.  Under  that  bond  that  him  as  fast  doth  bind." 

SONNET  CXXXV. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Another  remarkably  plain  sonnet,  speaking 
openly  of  "Will  Shakespeare."       Playing  with  the 
name  "Will"  he  closes  by  saying  that  we  shall, — 
14.  "Think  all  but  one,  and  me  in  that  one  "Will." 


87 

SONNET  CXXXVI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
One  similar  to  the  last  preceding  one.    Bacon 
claims  openly  that  his  name  is  Will,  that  is  "Will 
Shakespeare," — 

13.  "Make  but  my  name  thy  love,  and  love  that 

still, 

14.  And  then  thou  lovest  me,  for  my  name  is 

"Will." 
He  could  not  come  nearer  telling  the  secret, 
and  keeping  it  too. 

SONNET  CXXXVII. 
Apostrophe  to  Love 
Love  has  made  his  eyes  blind,  so  that  they 
see  only  his  Muse  as  his,  and  do  not  notice  The 
Figure,  made  to  decieve, — 

1.  "Thou  blind  fool.  Love,  what  doest  thou  to 

mine  eyes 

2.  That  they  behold  and  see  not  what  they  see  ?" 
Beauty  lies  in  his  Muse, — 

3.  "They  know  what  beauty  is,  see  where  it  lies 

4.  Yet  what  the  best  is  take  the  v/orst  to  be." 
The  judgement  of  his  heart,  that  he  is  the  author  of 
his  Muse,  "is  tied"  to  the  "hooks"  as  formed  in  the 
letter  B,  "the  bay,"  of  The  Figure,  "where  all  men 
ride,"  i.  e.,  which  all  men  see: 

5.  "If  eyes  corrupt  by  over-partial  looks 

6.  Be  anchor'd  in  the  bay  where  all  men  ride, 

7.  Why  of  eyes'  falsehood    hast    thou    forged 

hooks 

8.  Whereto  the  judgement  of  my  heart  is  tied  ?" 
The  visible  parts  of  B,  eyes'  falsehood,  resemble  two 
hooks ;  the  rest  of  the  letter  is  not  seen,  therefore, — 

7.  "Of  eyes'  falsehood  hast  thou  forged  hooks." 

The  Figure  is  "a  several  plot," — 

9.  "Why  should  my  heart  think  that  a  several 

plot 


10.  Which  my  heart  knows  the  wide  world's  com- 

mon place  V 
This  sonnet,  like  so  many  others,  apparently  void  of 
sense  becomes  beautiful  and  clear  when, — 

"To  truth  translated    and    for    true    things 

deem'd/' 

SONNET  CXXXVIII. 

No  Apostrophe 
His  "love"  is  made  of  truth,  though  she  "lies" 
in  the  name,  his  pseudonym : 

1.  "When  my  love  swears  that  she  is  made  of 

truth 

2.  I  do  believe  her,  though  I  know  she  lies." 
cf.  Sonnet  I  of  The  Passionate  Pilgiim.  The  two 
are  almost  identical. 

SONNET  CXXXIX. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
The  apparent  disowning  of  her  author  is  her 
unkindness, — 

1.  "The  wrong 

2.  That  thy  unkindness  lays  upon  my  heart." 

SONNET  CXL. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
The  author,  because  of  his  assumed  name,  is 
"tongue-tied:" 

1,  "Be  wise  as  thou    art  cruel;  do    not    press 

2.  My  tongue-tied  patience  with  too  much  dis- 

dain." 

"Mad  slanderers."  cf.  Sonnets  112,  2,  "vulgar  scan- 
dal;" 131,  14,  "slander." 

SONNET  CXLI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  speaks  of  the  errors  noted  in  her ;  cf .  Son- 
net 96. 


89 

SONNET  CXLII 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Because  of  his  "sin,"  his  assumed  name,  his 
nom  de  plume,  the  "dear    virtue"    of  his  Muse  is 
"hate,"— 

1.  "Love  is  my  sin  and  thy  dear  virtue  hate 

2.  Hate  of  my  sin,  grounded  on  sinful  loving." 

SONNET  CXLIII 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

An  interesting  and  mirth-provoking  sonnet. 

He  likens  his  Muse  to  a  mother  setting  down  her 

babe  (Bacon)  to  chase  a  feathered  creature,  his  nom 

de  plume  "Shakespeare:" 

9.  "So  runn'st  thou  after  that  which  flies  from 

thee 

10.  Whilst  I  thy  babe  chase  thee  afar  behind." 

SONNET  CXLIV. 

No  Apostrophe 
He  has  two  loves,  his  Muse  and  the  Shake- 
speare Figure,  both  giving  Bacon's  name, — 

1.  "Two  loves  I  have  of  comfort  and  despair, 

2.  Which  like  two  spirits  do  suggest  me  still." 
The  Figure  is  a  "man  right  fair,"  his  Muse  is  "a 
woman  color'd  ill,"  because  of  his  pheudonym: 

3.  "The  better  angel  is  a  man  right  fair 

4.  The  worser  spirit  a  woman  color'd  ill." 
They  are  both  from  him, — 

11,  "Being  both  from  me,  both  to  each  friend." 

SONNET  CXLV. 

No  Apostrophe 
Bacon  languishes  for  the  sake  of  his  Muse 
because  she  bears  another  name ;  her  lips, — 

2.  "Breathed  forth  the  sound  that  said  T  hate' 

3.  To  me  that  languish'd  for  her  sake." 
She  hates  that  other  name  but  not  Bacon, — 

13.  "  T  hate'  from  hate  away  she  threw, 


90 

14.  And  saved  my  life,  saying  'not  you' ." 

SONNET  CXLVI. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
He  addresses  her  as  "poor  soul,"^ — 

1.  "Poor  soul,  the  center  of  my  sinful  earth."" 
She  is  fooled  by  the  outward  show  of  the  Shake- 
speare name,  therefore  suffers  dearth  within, — 

2.  "Fooled  by  these  rebel  powers  that  thee  array 

3.  Why  dost  thou  pine  within  and  suffer  dearth 

4.  Painting  thy  outward  walls  so  costly  gay?" 

SONNET  CXLVIL 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
She  is  represented  as  longing, — 

2.  "For  that  which  longer  nurseth  the  disease," 
falsely  parading  under  an  assumed  name,  "the  ill," — 

3.  "Feeding  on  that  which  doth  preserve  the  ill,"" 
the  Shakespeare  name.  Because  of  this  his  Muse 
is,— 

14.  "Black  as  hell  and  dark  as  night." 

cf.  Sonnets  127,  131,  132. 

SONNET  CXLVIII. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Love,  his  Muse 

Because  of  the  name  given  her  his  eyes  do  not 
see  aright: 

1.  '0  me,  what  eyes  hath  Love  put  in  my  head, 

2.  Which  have  no  correspondence  with  true 
sight,"       kept  blind  with  tears, — 

13.  "0  cunning  Love !  with  tears  thou  keep'st  me 

blind, 

14.  Lest  eyes  well-seeing  thy  foul  faults  should 

find." 

SONNET  CXLIX. 

Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Against  himself  he  partakes  with  her: 

1.  "Canst  thou,  O  cruel!    say  I  love  thee  not, 

2.  When  I  against  myself  with  thee  partake?" 


91 

He  is  all  tyrant  of  himself  for  her  sake : 

3.  'T)o  I  not  think  on  thee,  when  I  forgot 

4.  Am  of  myself,  all  tyrant,  for  thy  sake?" 
The  assumed  name,  her  defect,  he  worships, — 

11.  "All  my  best  doth  worship  thy  defect, 

12.  Commanded  by  the  motion  of  thine  eyes?" 

SONNET  CL. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 

1.  Whence    has  she    the  might  to  make    him 

3.  (Bacon)    "give  the  lie,"  the  name   "Shakespeare," 
6.       "the  very  refuse — of  thy  deeds,"  "thy  worst," — 

4.  And  swear  that  brightness  doth  not  grace  the 

day?" 
This  "unworthiness"  increased  his  love, — 

13.  "Thy  unworthiness  raised  love  in  me 

14.  More  worthy  I  to  be  beloved  of  thee." 

The  skill,  intricacy,  and  meaning  of  his  pseudoym, 
his  nom  de  plume,  are  so  great, — 
8.  "That,  in  my  mind,  thy  worst  all  best  ex- 

ceeds." 
SONNET  CLI. 
Apostrophe  to  Love  (in  the  first  6  lines)  and 
to  his  Muse,  lines  9  to  12. 
3.  The  Figure,  "gentle  cheater,"  is  personified  as 

Love, — 

2.  "Too  young  to  know  what  conscience  is;" 
therefore  he  persists  in  urging  the  "amiss,"  the 
name,  "Shakespeare," — 

3.  "Then,  gentle  cheater,  urge  not  my  amiss, 
Lest   guilty    of   my   faults   thy   sweet   self 

prove." 
Betraying  Bacon's  name  Love,  The  Figure,  points 
out  his  Muse, — 
10.  "As  his  triumphant  prize." 

SONNET  CLII. 
Apostrophe  to  his  Muse 
Through  his  nom  de  plume  "Shakespeare"  he 


92 


is  forsworn  to  her ;  but  she  is  twice  forsworn — both 
to  Bacon  and  to  "Shakespeare,"  to  which  she  is,— 
4.  "Vowing  new  hate  after  new  love  bearing:." 

To  those  that  cannot  see  this  he  "gave  eyes  to  bhnd- 
ness"  both  in  his  Plays  and  in  his  Sonnets, — 

12.  "Or  made  them  swear  against  the  thing  they 

see." 
Never  was  there  a  truer  prophecy!  They  have 
sworn  against  the  thing  they  ought  to  have  seen  for 
three  hundred  years,  to  the  present  day.  The  In- 
troductory Poem  they  have  taken  to  be  signed  by 
Ben  Jonson !  and  The  Figure,  Bacon's  name  in  mono- 
gram form,  masked  with  a  head,  becoming  of  dra- 
matic Muse,  has  been  taken  to  be  the  authentic 
portrait  of  one  "Shakespeare!"  Nothing  could  be 
more  grotesque,  truly  worthy  of  "Constable  Dull!" 

SONNET  CLIII. 

No  Apostrophe.  A  Sonnet  to  the  Love-God 
Cupid. 

Bacon,  sick,  sad  and  distempered,  because 
alienated  from  his  Muse,  coming  to  the  "seething 
bath,"— 

13.  "Found  no  cure;  the  bath  for  my  help  lies 

14.  Where  Cupid  got  new    fire — my    mistress' 

eyes," 
the  "eyes"  of  his  Muse  where  you  read  his  name. 

SONNET  CLIV. 
No  Apostrophe 
Another     Sonnet     to    the    Love-God,     "the 
general  of  hot  desire,"  fit  emblematic  expressions 
closing  the  Love-Song  to  his  Muse. 


1 


CHAPTER  V 


CONCLUSION 

From  the  preceding  Chapters  it  is  seen  that 
Bacon's  plan  to  keep  his  authorship  secret  and  yet 
to  estabhsh  it  absolutely  is  as  follows : 

1.  An  Introductory  Poem  with  a  fool-signature 
B.  I.  on  the  page  of  the  fly-leaf  opposite  to 
The  Figure  of  the  title-page  as  a  playful  in- 
troduction to  his  name. 

2.  His  Name  in  Monogram  in  the  form  of  a 
"Figure"  with  a  head  masking  the  letter  B, 
the  first  letter  of  his  name,  on  the  Title-page. 

3.  A  Prologue,  "vilely  penn'd,"  (in  the  Folio 
"viidely  pen'd"),  the  "greasy  Jone,"  by  Ben 
Jonson. 

4.  A  Play,  the  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  to  bring 
out,  explain,  and  establish  the  meaning  of 
The  Figure,  his  Signature  to  his  Book  of 
Plays. 

5.  A  series  of  Sonnets,  I'envoy,  to  his  Muse, 
elucidating  and  corroborating  his  author- 
ship,— 

"An  epilogue  or  discourse  to  make  plaine 
Some  obscure  precedence  that  hath  before 
been  saine." 

(L.  L.  L.  III.  1-82.  Folio  1623.) 
It  is  seen  that  all  this  was  most  carefully    planned 
from  the  beginning. 

"It  was  builded  far  from  accident."  (son.  126.)  Ben 
Jonson's  prologue  is  referred  to  in  L.  L.  L.  V.  2.  305,  as  a 
"prologue  vilely  penn'd,"  and  is  called  "Jone,"  in  the  Folio  of 


94 

1623,  the  feminine  form  of  Jon,  in  the  last  hne  of  Act  III.  1,. 
and  in  Act  V.  2,  930  and  939  as  "greasy  Jone."  It  has  most 
effectually  "greased"  the  way  in  helping  to  conceal  Bacon's 
authorship. 

It  follows  also  that  The  Figure  had  been  drawn  or 
painted,  or  at  least  accurately  conceived,  together  with  its 
Introductory  Poem,  before  Love's  Labor's  Lost  was  written. 
Some  of  his  Sonnets  were  also  written  before  this  play,  as 
they  are  there  referred  to,  and  three  Sonnets  appear  in  the 
play  itself. 

But  The  Figure  had  to  be  hid  from  the  public  view 
while  the  play  was  first  made  known  and  acted,  which  made 
of  it  a  perfect  comedy  instead  of  a  farce.  It  was  thus  im- 
possible to  see  the  true  relation,  meaning,  and  intent  of  the 
play.  When  at  last  all  was  printed  in  the  Folio  the  meaning 
and  the  true  connection  between  The  Figure  and  the  play 
was  unknown  to  the  public,  and  it  seemed  to  be  perfectly 
safe  to  publish  the  book. 

The  author  was  now  of  advanced  age,  being  62  years 
old  when  the  Folio  was  published  in  1623.  He  might  not 
have  many  more  years  to  live  in,  and  it  was  desirable  to  have 
the  book  published  while  he  lived,  so  that  he  could  supervise 
the  collection  and  publication  of  his  Plays,  and  thus  make  it 
authorative  and  authentic.  It  is  therefore  literally  true 
when  it  states  on  the  Title-page  that  the  plays  are  "publish- 
ed according  to  the  true  original  copies."  While  it  is  made 
to  appear  as  if  the  manuscripts  v/ere  picked  up  here  and 
there,  and  thrown  together  in  a  hurried  way,  a  necessary 
part  of  the  scheme,  to  make  believe  that  the  author  was 
dead,  it  is  now  seen  tooe  a  thing  most  carefully  planned 
from  beginning  to  end.  Bom  at  York  House,  London,  Jan- 
uary 22,  1561,  Bacon  died  at  Highgate,  April  9,  1626,  less 
than  three  years  after  the  publication  of  his  Folio. 

It  is  seen  furthermore  the  name  "Shakespeare"  is  of 
Bacon's  own  invention,  suggested  to  him  by  the  name  of  the 
actor  Shaxsper,  who  came  to  London  about  ten  years  before 
Love's  Labour's  Lost  was  first  published  in  1698.    With  the 


?^ 

coiiimon  people,  who  thought  it  referred  to  the  actor,  a  con- 
L  111:^1011  arose,  and  it  seems  that  he  adopted  the  spelhng  of 
Bacon's  nom  de  pkime  sUgli^tly  different,  viz.,  Shakspere. 

The  advantages  obtained  from  this  system  were  very 
great,  indeed  indespensible  to  his  Muse.  Therefore,  in 
Love's  Labour  Lost  he  calls  it  "mere  necessity." 

First,  he  could  write  securely.  It  was  fraught  with 
come  danger  to  be  an  author  in  those  days.* 

Sscond,  he  could  make  himself  aeriel,  an  airy  spirit> 
like  Muse  herself  an  airy  nothing,  yet  something,  sending 
forth  his  strains  of  poetry  coming  from  whence  no  one  but 
his  own  trusted  ones  really  knew.  Therefore,  as  a  poet  he 
calls  himself  "Ariel,  an  airy  spirit"  in  The  Tempest,  the 
play  mirrowing  what  takes  place  when  he  is  restored  as  au- 
thor to  his  kingdom,  his  Plays.  Miranda,  his  daughter,  is 
his  wonderful,  admirable  Muse;  as  f.uthor  he  is  Prospero, 
prospering  at  last. 

Third,  his  Muse  would  have  been  an  absolute  impos- 
sibility but  for  this  assumed  relationship.  It  forms  the 
ground  work  of  many  of  his  Plays.  Like  a  red  chord  it  runs 
through  all  of  his  poetry,  and  is  its  true  test.  "Thou  art  all 
my  art."     Sec  Son.  78. 

What  then  becomes  of  the  actor  "Shaxper,"  or 
"Shakspere?"  He  is  only  the  actor,  removed  to  Stratford- 
on-avon,  and  nothing  else.  We  have  not  a  line,  nor  even  a 
word  of  poetry  from  his  pen. 

The  wonderful  Folio  of  1623,  it  is  seen,  is  the  only  au- 
thorative  and  authentic  publication  of  Bacon's  Plays,  be- 
cause he  was  yet  living  and  for  years  had  planned  and  mm- 
uteiy  supervised  in  secret  how  the  work  was  to  be  done. 
Plays  not  found  therein  are  either  not  his,  or  w^ere  not  con- 
sidered by  nmi  worthy  to  be  included  in  the  collection. 

*See  The  Shakespeare  Myth  p.  15. 


CHAPTER  VI 

'GREASY  JONE' 

Ben  Jonson's  Poem,  the  'Prologue  vilely  penn'd,'  in  the  Folio  of  1623. 

To  the  memory  of  my  beloved,  The  Author, 

Mr.  William  Shakespeare: 

And  what  he  hath  left  us. 

To  draw  no  envy   (Shakespeare)   on  thy  name, 

Am  I  thus  ample  to  thy  Booke,  and  Fame: 
While  I  confesse  thy  writings  to  be  such, 

As  neither  Man,  nor  Muse,  can  praise  too  much. 
'Tis  true,  and  all  men's  suffrage.    But  these  wayes 

Were  not  the  paths  I  meant  unto  thy  praise: 
For  seeliest  Ignorance  on  these  may  light, 

Which,  when  it  sounds  at  best,  but  echo's  right ; 
Or  blinde  Affection,  which  doth  ne're  advance 

The  truth,  but  gropes,  and  urgeth  all  by  chance  ; 
Or  crafty  Malice,  might  pretend  this  praise, 

And  thinke  to  ruine,  where  it  seem'd  to  raise. 
These  are  as  some  infamous  Baud,  or  whore 

Should  praise  a  Matron.    What  could  hurt  her  more  ? 
But  thou  art  proof  against  them,  and  indeed 

Above  th'ill  fortune  of  them,  or  the  need. 
I,  therefore  will  begin.    Soule  of  the  Age! 

The  applause !  delight !  the  wonder  of  our  stage ! 
My  Shakespeare,  rise;  I  will  not  lodge  thee  by 

Chaucer,  or  Spenser,  or  bid  Beaumont  lye 
A  little  further,  to  make  thee  a  roome: 

Thou   art  a  Moniment,   without   a  tombe, 
Ar>d  art  alive  still,  while  thy  Booke  doth  live, 

And  we  have  wits  to  read,  and  praise  to  give. 


97 

That  I  not  mixe  thee  so,  my  braine  excuses; 

I  meane  with  great,  but  disproportion'd  Muses: 
For,  if  I  thought  my  judgement  were  of  yeeres, 

I  should  commit  thee  surely  with  thy  peeres. 
And  tell,  how  farre  thou  didstst  our  Lily  out-shine, 

Or  sporting  Kid,  or  Marlowes  mighty  line. 
And  though  thou  hadst  small  Latine,  and  lesse  Greeke 

From  thence  to  honour  thcc,  I  would  not  seeke 
For  names ;  but  call  forth  thund'ring  iSiIschilus, 

Euripides,  and  Sophocles  to  us. 
Paccuvius,  Accius,  him  of  Cordova  dead, 

To  life  againc,  to  heare  thy  Buskin  tread, 
And  shake  a  Stage:  Or,  when  thy  Sockes  were  on, 

Leave  thee  alone,  for  the  Comparison 
Of  all,  that  insolent  Greece,  or  haughtie  Rome 

Sent  forth,  or  since  did  from  the  their  ashes  come. 
Triumph,  my  Britaine,  thou  hast  one  to  showo. 

To  whom  all  Scenes  of  Europe  homage  owe. 
He  was  not  of  an  age,  but  for  all  time! 

And  all  the  Muses  still  were  in  their  prime, 
When  like  Apollo  he  came  forth  to  warme 

Our  eares,  or  like  a  Mercury  to  charme! 
Nature  her  selfe  was  proud  of  his  designs. 

And  joy'd  to  weare  the  dressing  of  his  lines! 
Which  were  so  richly  spun,  and  woven  so  fit. 

As,  since,  she  will  vouchsafe  no  other  Wit. 
The  merry  Greeke,  tart  Aristophanes, 

Neat  Terence,  witty  Plautus,  now  not  please, 
But  antiquated,  and  deserted  lye 

As  they  v/ere  not  of  Nature's  family. 
Yet  must  I  not  give  Nature  all:      Thy  Art, 

My  gentle  Shakespeare,  must  enjoy  a  part. 
For  though  the  Poets  matter,  Nature  be, 

His  Art  doth  give  the  fashion.       And,  that  he. 
Who  casts  to  write  a  living  line,  must  sweat, 

(Such  as  thine  are)  and  strike  the  second  heat 
Upon  the  Muses  anvil:  turne  the  same. 


98 

(And  himscli  wuh  it)  that  he  tb. inkes  to  frame; 
Or  '"or  the  lawreli,  he  may  gaine  a  scorne 

For  a  good  Poet's  made,  as  well  as  borne. 
And  such  wert  thou.     Looke  how  the  fathers  face; 

lives  in  his  issue,  even  so,  the  race 
or  Shakespeares  mindc,  and  manners  brightly  shines 

In  h^s  well  torned,  and  true  filed  lines: 
In  each  of  whirh,  ho  seems  to  shake  a  Lance, 

As  brandish'^  at  the  eyes  of  Ignorance. 
Sweet  Swan  of  Avon'  what  a  sight  it  were 

To  see  thee  in  our  waters  yet  appeare, 
And  make  those  flights  upon  the  banks  of  Thames, 

That  so  did  takp  Eliza,  and  our  James! 
But  stay,  I  see  thee  in  the  Hemisphere 

Advanc'd,  and  mado  a  Constellation  there! 
Shine  forth,  thou  Starre  of  Poets,  and  with  rage. 

Or  influence,  chide,  or  cheere  the  drooping  Stage; 
Which,  since  they  flight  fro'  lience,  hath  mourn'd  like  night, 

And  despaires  day,  but  for  thy  Volumes  light, 

BEN:  JONSOK 


CHAPTER  VII 

EPILOGUE 

'  Do  not  infest  your  mind  with  beating  on 

The  strangeness  of  this  business. 

The  Tempest,  V.  1.  246. 

1.     THE   FOLIO 

The  Folio  of  1623  contains  the  thirty-six  Plays  as 
they  are  known  to  us.  Many  that  had  before  been  published 
wore  re-written  and  altered  in  this  final  edition  in  the  Folio. 
They  are  divided  into  three  parts,  viz.,  Comedies,  Histories, 
and  Tragedies.  Each  part  begins  with  page  1,  and  so  are 
separately  paged.  The  size  of  the  Folio  is  13  Vs  in.  x  57/o  in. 
and  contains  in  all  908  pages,  forming  a  most  impressive 
looking  volume.  It  is  supposed  that  about  600  copies  were 
printed;  and  of  these  about  160  copies,  or  about  one-third, 
have  survived  to  the  present  day. 

The  Preliminary  Pages. 
The  first  nine  leaves  or  eighteen  pages  of  the  Folio 
contain  prehminary  matter;  they  are  not  paged.  They  are, 
of  course,  as  is  easily  seen,  all  arranged  and  written  by 
Bacon  except  the  Poem  by  Ben  Jonson.  They  are  made 
up  with  a  purpose  to  deceive  the  uninformed  and  unsuspect- 
ing as  to  the  author  of  the  Plays,  borrowing  and  affixing 
the  apparent  names  of  different  persons  or  their  apparent 
initials. 

Page  1 
is  the  first  side  of  the  fly-leaf  and  is  blank. 

Page  2 
the  second  page  of  the  fly-leaf,  contains  the  Introductory 
Poem  "To  the  Reader"  opposite  the  Title-page. 


100 

Page  3 

is  the  Title-pag-e  with  Bacon's  Monogram  The  Figure. 

Page  4 
is  blank. 

Pages  5  and  6 
contain  "The  Epistle  Dedicatory,"  which  is  a  jest,  a  hem 
with  frenzy  (It.  condelerio) — "in  fine  frenzy  rolling" — and 
therefore  signed  with  the  suitable  names  "Heminge"  and 
"Condell."    It  reads  as  follows  (spelling  as  in  the  original)  : 

To  the  most  noble  and  incomparable  paire  of  breth- 
ren. William,  Earle  of  Pembroke,  etc.  Lord  Chamberlain 
to  the  Kings  most  Excellent  Maiesty. 

And  Philip,  Earle  of  Montgomery,  etc.  Gentleman  of  hie 
Maiesties  Bedchamber.       Both  Knights  of  the  most  Noble 
Order  of  the  Garter,  and  our  singular  good  Lords. 
Right  Honorable, 

Whilst  we  studie  to  be  thankful  in  our  particular, 
for  the  many  favours  we  have  received  from  your  L.  L.  we 
are  falne  upon  the  ill  fortune,  to  mingle  two  the  most  diverse 
things  that  can  bee,  feare,  and  raslinecse;  rashnesse  in  the 
enterprise  and  feare  of  the  successe.  For,  when  we  valew^ 
the  places  your  H.  H.  sustaine,  we  cannot  but  know  their 
dignity  greater,  then  to  descend  to  the  reading  of  these 
trifles:  and,  while  we  name  them  trifles,  we  have  depriv'd 
ourselves  of  the  defence  of  our  Dedication.  But  since  your 
L.  L.  have  been  pleas'd  to  think  these  trifles  some- 
thing, heeretofore;  and  have  prosequuted  both  them,  and 
their  Author  living,with  so  much  favour:  we  hope,  that 
(they  out-living  him,  and  he  not  having  the  fate,  common 
with  some  to  be  exequutor  to  his  owne  writings)  you  will  use 
the  like  indulgence  toward  them,  you  have  done  unto  their 
parent.  There  is  a  great  difference,  whether  any  Booke 
choose  his  Patrones,  or  finde  them:  This  hath  done  both. 
For,  so  much  were  your  L.  L.  likings  of  the  severall  parts, 
when  they  were  acted,  as  before  they  were  published,  the 
Volume  ask'd  to  be  yours.  We  have  but  collected  them,  and 
done  an  office  to  the  dead,  to  procure  his  Orphanes,  Guard- 


101 

aans ;  without  ambition  either  of  self e-profit,  or  fame :  onely 
to  keepe  the  memory  of  so  worthy  a  Friend,  &  Fellow 
alive,  as  was  our  Shakespeare,  by  humble  offer  of  his  playes, 
to  your  most  noble  patronage.  Wherein,  as  we  have  justly 
observed,  no  man  to  come  neere  your  L.  L.  but  with  a  kind 
of  religious  addresse;  it  hath  been  the  height  of  our  care, 
v/ho  are  the  Presenters,  to  make  the  present  worthy  of  your 
H.  H.  by  the  perfection.  But,  there  we  must  also  crave  our 
abilities  to  be  considered,  my  Lords.  We  cannot  go  beyond 
our  owne  powers.  Country  hands  reach  foorth  milke, 
creame,  f ruites,  or  what  they  have :  and  many  Nations  (we 
have  heard)  that  had  not  gummes  and  incense,  obtained 
their  requests  with  a  leavened  Cake.  It  was  no  fault  to 
approach  their  Gods,  by  what  meanes  they  could:  And  the 
most,  though  meanest,  of  things  are  made  more  precious, 
when  they  are  dedicated  to  Temples.  In  that  name  there- 
fore, we  most  humbly  consecrate  to  your  H.  H.  these  re- 
maines  of  your  servant  Shakespeare ;  that  what  delight  is 
in  them,  may  be  ever  your  L.  L.  the  reputation  his,  &  the 
faults  ours,  if  any  be  commited,  by  a  payre  so  carefull  to 
shew  their  gratitude  both  to  the  living,  and  the  dead,  as  is 
Your  Lordshippes  most  bounden, 

John  Heminge. 

Henry  Condell. 

Page? 
contains  the  address :      "To  the  great  Variety  of  Readers," 
which  runs  as  follows: 
To  the  great  Variety  of  Readers. 

From  the  most  able,  to  him  that  can  but  spell ;  There 
you  are  number'd.  We  had  rather  you  were  weigh'd. 
Especially,  when  the  fate  of  all  Bookes  depends  upon  your 
capacities :  and  not  of  your  heads  alone,  but  of  your  purses. 
Well !  It  is  now  publique,  &  you  wi  1  stand  for  your 
privileges  wee  know :  to  read,  and  censure.  Do  so,  but  buy 
it  first.  That  doth  best  commend  a  Booke,  the  Stationer 
saies.  Then,  how  odde  soever  your  braines  be,  or  your 
wisedomes,  make  your  licence    the   same,    and    spare  not. 


102 . 

Judge  your  sixe-pen'orth,  your  shillings  worth,  your  five 
shillings  worth  at  a  time,  or  higher,  so  you  rise  to  the  just 
rates,  and  welcome.  But,  what  ever  you  do.  Buy.  Censure 
will  not  drive  a  trade,  or  make  the  Jacke  go.  And  though 
you  be  a  Majistrate  of  wit,  and  sit  on  the  Stage  at  Black- 
Friers,  or  the  Cock-pit,  to  arraigne  Playes  dailie,  know, 
these  Playes  have  had  their  triall  alreadie,  and  stood  out  all 
Appeales,  and  do  now  come  forth  quitted  rather  by  a 
Decree  of  Court,  then  any  purchas'd  Letters  of  commenda- 
tion. 

It  had  bene  a  thing,  we  confesse,  worthie  to  have 

bene  wished,  that  the  Author  himselfe  had  hv'd  to  have  set 
forth,  and  overseen  his  owne  writings ;  But  since  it  hath  bin 
ordain'd  otherwise,  and  he  by  death   departed  from  that 
right,  we  pray  you  do  not  envie  his  Friends,  the  office  of 
their  care,  and  paine,  to  have  collected  &  publish'd  chem; 
and  so  to  have  publish'd  them,  as  v^here  (before)  you  v/ere 
abus'd  with  diverse  stolne,  and  surreptitious  copies,  maimed 
r,nd  deformed  by  the  frauds  and  stealthes  of  iniurious  im- 
postors, that  expos'd  them:    even  those,    are  now  offer'd 
to  your  view  cur'd  and  perfect  of  their  iimbes;  and  all  the 
rest,  absolute  in  their  numbers,  as  he  conceived  them.    Who, 
as  he  was  a  happie  imitator  of  Nature,  was  a  most  gentle 
expresser  of  it.     His  mind  and  hand  went  together:  And 
what  he  thought,  he  uttered  with  that  easinesse,  that  wee 
have  scarce  received  from  him  a  blot  in  his  papers.     But 
it  is  not  our  province,  who  onely  gather  his  works,  and  give 
them  you,  to  praise  him.      It  is  yours  that  reade  him.    And 
there  we  hope,  to  your  divers  capacities,  you  will  find  enough, 
both  to  draw,  and  hold  you :  for  his  wit  can  no  more  lie  hid, 
then  it  could  be  lost.     Reade  him,  therefore;  and  againe, 
and  againe:    And  if  then  you  doe  not  like  him,  surely  you 
are  in  some  manifest  danger,  not  to  understand  him.     And 
so  we  leave  you  to  other  of  his  Friends,  whom  if  you  need, 
can  bee  your  guides:  if  you  needethem  not,  you  can  leade 
your  selves,  and  others.     And  such  Readers  we  wish  him. 

John  Heminge. 

Henrie  Condell 


The   Key  To  Shakespeare 


TO  THE  MEMORIE 

of  thedcccafcd  Authour  Maiftcr 

.    AV.  Shakes  I'  EARS. 

•  .f-v   '^■,-1  --h  .!■  j-i  i,,o!,,  lelhiPCK^iuf 

\The  woi!  :  ■  '■■ 


AndT'^-  -It': 

licreVi  .:::•,,■  ^    ..  .,  ,^^ 

WhcnBr.4,.„.:.S:.,  '■"'■'■ 

I  >  ell)  to  ml  Anfy.  when  i 
Sl'.:l!hjtl-ipl).:e's  ne1t>,th:'r 
That  u not Shake-fjicarcs- , cu'i ,  /j*,* ,, ,„ hDe,  U 
Here  fhall reHi:ir,rcdecii:c  ll.crfo,,,  tl)  llr/e. 
K'jr Finytor  CMf^riii':^  .hCy-.,  T'J afo/.i;./^ 
Of  his, thy  tfit-jf.W'ht  Booki-  jhJIoncc  iiLje. 
Kor  jh.il!  Ic'rc  beleeue,  or  tInnKe  thee  .-iej-i 
frixiii'!-  "nf:   -j'iidloui  I'jiih  CKt  Si.iy  lijuej 

On:!!  Jh:.t.^a\ 

Then •:. :.:hth)  l:i;i  ^.v.' ,( ; ^//iw' Ki  :iun>//uA' 

Ttl!  thtje, till  any  oj  il)  I'^dkinesn/} 

Skill  with  more  lire, mm  cu'  •—-..,  i]^ 

Sf/i^e^w Shake  fpcai  .c./jc, 

h.nr.^ln'dwithl.r.Tlrc.     .  .    ^ 


.hi'htch,oitt-lr.ie 
^tfto'-.eifratt. 


L.D.-c 


To  themcniorie  Qf}A.lKShaf^'Jpeare. 

yrSJ  EEwc>uired{ShJK.Q-if'iasc)that  thwaentftfofoone 

From  the  WvrUs-Stitxe,tothe  Graua-Tyring-roome. 
Wee  thiuiht  thet  detd,  but  this  thy  friiitfJ  ^orth, 
Tets  thy  Spectators ^hat  thiu  TKntji  bui  forth 
To  enter  l^ith  applaiife.  Ah  Aclan  Art, 
(^Mdfe,jndliM,toaHea/ecoiidparc. 
That's  hut  miEkH of Mort^tie; 
Th»,»  %t-*axrt>ut  to*  TUuditt. 

I*  H* 


Plate    IX. 


103 

PagsS 
is  blank. 

Page  9 
is  another  interesting  page,  if  we  understand  it.  It 
contains  two  short  Poems :  see  plate  IX.  These  poems  are 
thrusts,  or  "digs,"  at  his  Muse,  his  Love:  and  therefore 
bsar  the  appropriate  signatures  "L.  Digges,"  I.  M.,"  which 
means :  Love's  Digs  I  am ;  or  read  with  the  monogram  head- 
piece it  is :  "Francis  Bacon,  To  the  Menory  of  the  deceased 
Author  Maister  W.  Shakespeare,  Love's  Digs  I  am.  This 
page  contains  a  head-piece  which  is  easily  seen  to  be  "Fran- 
cis Bacon"  in  monogram  foi-m.  This  head-piece  appears 
twelve  times  through  the  book,  being  at  the  head  of  eleven  of 
the  Plays  including  that  of  Love's  Labour  Lost.  A  key  is 
seen  inserted  through  the  link  or  0.  Of  this  head-piece 
Sir  Sidney  Lee  writes  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Oxford- 
Facsimile  that  "it  cannot  be  matched  in  Jagcrard'n  bool^r^  or 
indeed  elsewhere,"  "and  m^y  have  been  newly  cut  for  the 
volume," — ^The  reason  is  apparent ;  beinof  Bacon's  Monogram 
it  is,  of  course,  specially  made  for  the  book. 

The  other  head-pieces  used  in  the  Folio  are  common 
to  many  books  of  the  time. 

Page  10 
is  blank. 

Page  11 

is  a  secondary  title-page,  v/ith  "the  nam.es  of  the  principal 
actors  in  all  these  plays,"  and  reads :     "The  Works  of  Will- 
iam Shakespeare,  containing  all  his  Comedies,  Histories,  and 
Tragedies :  Truly  set  forth,  according  to  their  first  original." 
The    Names  of  the  Principall    Actors 
in  all  these  Plays. 
William  Shakespeare 
Richard  Burbadge 
John  Hemmings. 
Augustine  Phillips. 
William  Kempt. 
Thomas  Poope. 


104 

George  Biyan, 
Henry  CondelL 
William  Slye. 
Richard  Cowly. 
John  Lowine. 
Samuell  Crosse. 
Alexander  Cooke. 
Samuel  Gilburne. 
Robert  Armin. 
William  Ostler. 
Nathan  Field. 
John  Underwood. 
Nicholas  Tooley. 
William  Ecclestone. 
Joseph  Taylor. 
Robert  Benfield. 
Robert  Gaughe. 
Richard  Robinson, 
John  Shancke. 
John  Rice." 

Page  12 
is  blank. 

Pages  13  and  14 
contain  the    prologue    by  Ben  Johnson ;    see  Chapter    VI. 

Page  15 
contains  a  Sonnet  signed  with  the  suitable  name  "Hugh 
Holland"  (Hue,  hold  on).  "Hue  and  cry"  in  law:  the  pur- 
suit of  an  offender  with  loud  outcries  or  clamor  to  give  an 
alarm.  See  "Hue  and  cry,"  Century  Dictionary.  The  jesting 
character  of  it  is,  of  course,  seen  throughout.  It  is  as 
follows : 
"Upon  the  Lines  and  Life  of  the  Famous  Scenicke  Poet, 

Master  William  Shakespeare. 
Those  hands,  which  you  so  clapt,  go  now,  and  wring 
You  Britaines  brave;  for  done  are  Shakespeares  days: 
His  days  are  done,  that  made  the  dainty  Plays, 
Which  made  the  Globe  of  Heav'n  and  earth  to  ring. 


105 

Dry'de  is  that  veine,  dry'd  is  the  Thespian  Spring, 
Turn'd  all  to  tears,  and  Phoebus  clouds  his  rays: 
That  corp's,  that  coffin  now  besticke  those  bays, 
VV'hich  crown'd  him  Poet  first,  then  Poets  Kmg. 
If  Tragedies  might  any  Prologue  have. 
All  those  he  made,  would  scarse  make  one  to  this: 
Where  Fame,  now  that  he  gone  is  to  the  grave 
(Deaths   publique   tyring-house)    the   Nuncius  is. 

For  though  his  line  of  life  went  soone  about. 
The  hfe  yet  of  his  lines  shall  never  out. 

Hugh  Holland." 

Page   16 
is  blank. 

Page  17 
contains : 

A  CATALOGUE 
of  the  several  Comedies,  Histories,  and  Tragedies  contained 
in  this  Volume. 

Comedies 

The  Tempest. 

Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

The  Comedy  of  Errors. 

Much  Adoo  About  Nothing. 

Loves  Labour  Lost. 

Midsommer  Nights  Dream. 

The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

As  You  Like  It. 

The  Taming  of  the  Shrew 

All  is  Well  That  Ends  Well 

Twelfe-Night,  or  What  You  Will. 

The  Winters  Tale. 

Histories 

The  Life  and  Death  of  King  John. 

The  Life  &  death  of  Richard  the  second. 

The  First  part  of  King  Henry  the  fourth. 


106 

The  Second  part  of  K.  Henry  the  fourth. 

The  Life  of  King  Henry  the  Fift. 

The  First  part  of  King  Henry  the  Sixt. 

The  Second  part  of  King  Hen.  the  Sixt. 

The  Third  part  of  King  Henry  the  Sixt. 

The  Life  &  Death  of  Richard  the  Third. 

The  Life  of  King  Henry,  the  Eight. 
Tragedies 

The  Tragedy  of  Coriolanus. 

Romeo  and  Juliet. 

Timon  of  Athens. 

The  Life  and  death  of  Julius  Caesar. 

The  Tragedy  of  Macbeth. 

The  Tragedy  of  Hamlet. 

King  Lear. 

Othello,  the  Moore  of  Venice. 

Anthony  and  Cleopater. 

Cymbeline,  King  of  Britaine. 

The  Tragedy  of  Tioylus  and  Cressida  does  not  ap- 
pear in  the  Catalogue,  but  is  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Tragedies  immediately  after  the  Histories  and  is  not  paged 
except  two  pages,  the  third  and  fourth  marked,  79,  80.  This 
play  has  recently  been  shown  by  Mrs.  Hinton  Stewart  to 
be  a  satire  upon  the  Court  og  Kink  James  I,  who  was  then 
ruling  England.  This,  perhaps,  explains  its  absence  from 
the  Catalogue,  and  why  it  is  unpaged,  viz,,  to  make  it  less 
conspicuous. 

Page  18 
is  blank. 

The  Booke  is  made  up  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  it  the 
appearance  of  being  published  after  the  Author's  death  in 
order  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  secret  authorship. 

2.     THE  TEMPEST 

The  history  of  the  Storm,  the  Bacon-Shakespeare 
controvercy,  of  which  Bacon  gives  us  a  prophetic  vision  in 
The  Tempest  appropriately  placed  as  the  first  in  the  Folio, 
is  highly  interesting.     It    began  about  the  middle  of  the 


107 

nineteeiith  century  when  Joseph  C.  Hart  (United  States 
Consul  at  Santa  Cruz)  in  his  book  "Romance  of  Yachting" 
pabhshed  1848  began  to  question  the  Shakespearean  author- 
ship. Since  then  the  storm  has  increased  in  violence  until 
now  all  aboard  with  the  usurper  have  suffered  shipwreck 
and  calm  is  restored  =^  ana  Bacon's  authorship  is  fully 
estabhshed  and  as  Prospero  he  has  regained  his  rightful 
Dukedom.  More  than  500  volumes  have  appeared  on  either 
tiide  of  the  question.  Two  of  the  most  \aluabie  are  by  Sir 
Edwin  Durning-Lawrence,  The  Shakespeare  Myth,  and 
Bacon  is  Shakespeare,  1910. 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier  said :  "Whether  Bacon  wrote 
the  wonderful  plays  or  not,  I  am  quite  sure  the  man  Shak- 
spere  neither  did  nor  could." 

Emerson  was  of  the  same  opinion. 

Mark  Twain  in  one  of  his  late  books  "Is  Shakespeare 
dead"  treats  with  scathing  scorn  and  ridicule  those  who  be- 
lieve that  the  actor  Shakspere  wrote  the  Plays. 

Eminent  men  like  Lord  Palmerston  (d.  1865),  Joh  :. 
Bright  (d.  1889),  Coleridge  (d.  1834)  were  similarly  fully 
convinced. 

This  speaks  well  for  their  wonderful  insight  and  in- 
telligence. 

3.     THE  FIGURE 

This  is  tne  tune  of  our  catch, 

played  by  the  picture  of  Nobody. 

The  Tempest,  III.  2.  136. 

*The  following  characters  can  be  easily  recognized:  Alonso  (alone  so), 
Bacon,  King  of  Muse;  Prospero,  Bacon,  prospering  at  last.  Antonio, 
Shakespeare;  Ferninand,  the  Sonnets;  Stephano  (crown),  the  head  of 
The  Figure;  Caliban,  i.  e.,  canibal,  "Shakespeare,"  as  seen  in  The 
Figure;  Sycorax  (Phyche  in  ^"ags).  Bacon's  Muse  in  rags,  in  "noted 
weed"  (Sonnet  76).  Trinculo,  i.  e.,  tri  in  vinculo  ("Shakespeare," 
Bacon,  and  his  Muse)  The  Figure;  Arie'  (aeriel).  Bacon's  poetic  spirit 
or  power  to  create.  Miranda  (mirabile,  admirable,  wonderful)  Bacon's 
admirable,  wonder  Muse,  The  Plays;  Naples,  no  place;  Milan,  my  land, 
his  Dukedom,  his  Immortal  Muse;  Island,  his  descent,  his  banishment 
from  his  Muse. 


108 ..___„_______™_™___, , 

Bacon's  Monogram,  The  Figure,  symbolizes  his  Muse, 
and  is,  no  doubt  the  most  ingenious  ever  invented.  Drawn 
so  perfect,  and  with  a  head  on,  or  mask,  to  cover  up  the 
initial  B  of  his  name  so  as  to  simulate  a  human  being  it  has 
passed  for  well  nigh  three  hundred  years  for  the  portrait  of 
a  man,  due  in  a  large  measure,  no  doubt,  to  the  fool-lines 
and  fool-signature  of  the  Introductory  Poem  on  the  fly-leaf 
and  opposite  the  'picture.'  Together  with  the  contents  of 
the  preliminary  pages  it  has  served  its  purpose  well.  It  is 
a  thing  unmatched  in  literature,  prefiguring  the  genius  of 
the  author  displayed  in  all  his  Plays. 

You  never  can  get  tired  of  looking  at  that  "picture  of 
Nobody"  novv'  that  you  know  what  it  is ;  and  the  more  you 
study  it  and  know  about  it  the  more  you  wonder,  and  the 
more  precious  it  oecomes  to  you.  It  is  the  sine  qua  non,  the 
most  important  part,  of  his  Book,  and  is  truly  the  Key  to 
his  Muse,  as  without  it,  it  can  never  be  understood  in  its 
entirety.  It  truly  ''makes  his  book  thine  eyes,"  and  "the 
people  fall  a-hooting"  when  its  meaning  is  seen.  L.  L.  L.  IV. 
2.  61. 

It  is  of  interest  to  observe  that  the  preposition  B  I 
(bi,  by)  is  placed  like  a  catch-word  just  opposite  the  B  in 
the  Collar  of  The  Figure.  As  in  all  old  books  catch-words 
are  used  throughout  the  Folio, 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  part  of  The  Figure  is 
the  letter  B  used  as  a  collar.  Its  squareness  in  front,  with 
sharp  corners,  and  its  peculiar  appearance  makes  it  most 
conspicuous  ana  curious  throughout.  The  F  and  R  come 
next  in  evidence,  bold  of  outline  and  of  royal  sweep,  the  mid- 
dle bars  made  obscure  yet  perfectly  clear  in  outline  when 
once  seen  in  the  original. 

Equally  curious  and  in  evidence  is  the  letter  N  with. 
its  Co-line  L  on  the  left  arm  in  front.  C  is  also  natural  and 
plain  as  well  as  the  full  0  in  the  fashion  of  a  collar  or  band 
around  the  arm  next  to  the  shoulder.  The  letter  A  is  partly 
hidden  under  the  collar  B,  yet  is  perfectly  plain.  It  is 
"gelded,"  cut,  "the  other  half  which  is  unsatisfied"  being 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


The  Mask   (reduced    V2). 


Plate  X. 


The  Key  To  Shakespeare 


The  perfect  monogram  (reduced  V2). 

PR   BAGOrS 


Plate  XL 


109 

on  the  back  of  the  right  side,  which,  of  course,  does  not 
appear  in  The  Figure,  and  so  only  half  of  the  letter  A  is 
seen.     With  upper  part  of  R,  the  A,  is  seen  in  front. 

As  to  the  head,  the  mask,  masking  his  name.  Bacon 
declares  it  to  be  "the  picture  of  Nobody." 

The  fact  that  The  Figure  is  double  left-handed  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  ingenious  part  of  the  device,  and  has  a 
meaning.  It  means  that  the  name  "Shakespeare"  is  his 
left  hand  his  servant  used  as  his  pseudonym,  his  pen-name 
or  nom  de  plume. 

It  is  mirth-provoking  to  abserve  what  ridiculous 
suppositions  it  leads  to  when  we  do  not  see  "where  light  in 
darkness  Hes."  Witness  the  following  by  Sir  Sidney  Lee  in 
his  Introduction  to  the  Oxford  Facsimile  of  the  Folio  of 
1623,  page  22: 

"The  only  pictorial  embellishment  of  the  volume  is  the 
engraved  portrait  of  Shakespeare  (7  7-16in.  x  6  3-16  in.), 
which  is  printed  on  the  title-page.  The  engraver  Martin 
Droeshout  belonged  to  a  Flemish  family  of  painters  and 
engravers  long  settled  in  London,  where  he  was  bom  in 
1601.  The  engraving  was,  therefore,  produced  when  the 
artist  had  only  completed  his  twenty-second  year,  and  may 
be  regarded  as  the  effort  of  an  apprentice.  It  followed  a 
painting,  possibly  the  "Flower"  portrait  of  Shakespeare  now 
in  the  Memorial  Gallery  at  Stratf  ord-on-Avon.  That  picture 
is  believed  to  have  been  painted  in  Shakespeare's  life  time, 
in  1609,  by  a  Flemish  artist,  who  has  been  conjecturally 
identified  with  the  engraver's  uncle,  also  named  Martin 
Droeshout.  In  the  verses  on  the  page  facing  the  title  of 
the  volume  Ben  Jonson  congratulates  "the  graver"  on  having 
satisfactorily  "hit"  the  poet's  "face."  But  impressions  that 
are  usually  met  with  are  too  coarsely  printed  to  give  the 
likeness  verisimilitude.  Defects  in  the  original  design,  the 
disproportion  between  the  dimensions  of  the  head  and  the 
half-length  of  the  body,  cannot  be  laid  to  the  engraver's 
charge.  Nor  is  Droeshout's  ability  to  be  fairly  judged  from 
the  ordinary  condition  of  his  engraving." 


110 

Likewise,  in  the  same  Introduction,  page  23,  in  quot- 
ing the  Notes  by  Mr.  Horace  Hart,  the  Controller  of  the 
Oxford  University  Press,  on  the  Typography  of  the  First 
Folio,  about  the  two  V's  for  W  in  the  Intrduoctory  Poem,  he 
says: 

"The  large  roman,  used  in  the  page  opposite  the 
portrait,  is  cast  on  the  Dutch  body  called  Kleine  Kanon, 
equal  to  24  Didot  points.  No  English  typebody  which  I  am 
able  to  measure  fits  it;  and  the  face  is  Dutch.  But  the 
absence  of  the  letter  w  from  the  fount  (the  printer  has  had 
to  make  it  up  with  two  V's)  needs  explanation.  I  hesitate 
to  suggest  that  this  type  may  have  come  from  Holland  to 
England  by  way  of  France." 

Howe  utterly  misled  they  are  and  ignorant  of  the 

true  intent  and  meaning! 

Verily,  it  sounds  like  a  child's  prattle. 

Surely, — 

'Dainty  bits, 

Make  rich  the  ribs,  but  bankrupt  quite  the  wits." 
It  is  a  curious  and  a  remarkable  fact  that  "This 
Figure"  has  been  taken  to  be  a  portrait  of  a  man  "Shake- 
speare," and  that  the  meaning  of  The  Figure  has  not  been 
understood  before  by  those  who  have  had  access  to  the  first 
Folio  of  1623.  Like  a  High  Priest,  a  Master  Parson,  has 
Bacon  stood  before  us  for  generations  without  being  seen  or 
understood  in  "This  Figure,"  his  veritable  Sphinx. 

Now  my  charmes  are  all  ore-throwne, 

And  what  strength  I  have's  my  owne. 

Which  is  most  faint.     Now  'tis  true 

I  must  be  here  confinde  by  you, 

Or  sent  to  Naples,  Let  me  not 

Since  I  have  my  Dukedome  got, 

And  pardon'd  the  deceiver,  dwell 

In  this  bare  Island,  by  your  Spell, 

But  release  me  from  my  bands  . 

With  the  helpe  of  your  good  hands: 

Gentle  breath  of  yours,  my  Sailes 

Must   fill,   or   else  my  project  failes. 

Which  was  to  please:     Now  I  want 


Ill 


Spirits  to  enforce.     Art  to  inchant, 
And   my  ending  is  despaire, 
Unless  I  be  reliev'd  by  praier 
Which  pierces  so,  that  it  assaults 
Mercy  it  selfe,  and  frees  all   faults. 
As  you  from  crimes  would  pardon'd  be, 
Let  your  Indulgence  set  me  free. 

The  Tempest. 
Epilogue,  spoken  by  Prosper©. 


HE 


'vnv  -oriT' 


"»k. 


OKI'  A 


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